


SHIELD and Spider-Man

by Moonlightsplash



Series: A Spider's Plan [1]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Post Civil War, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-17 13:09:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13077537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlightsplash/pseuds/Moonlightsplash
Summary: It's a long road to convince Spider-Man to work with SHIELD and he winds up bringing along some friends.





	SHIELD and Spider-Man

**Author's Note:**

> Marvel didn't write this, so my story is AU.
> 
> Disclaimer- Marvel owns all rights to Spider-Man.

Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, stared at the young Agent sitting before him.

“Son, I can appreciate your enthusiasm, but Spider-Man died several years ago now. Oscorp got him, remember? We even have video.”

Agent Brett Walker, on his first year in the field, nodded. “I know, sir. That’s what everyone thinks. However, I have uncovered new evidence! I think that Spider-Man is good enough that he hacked their servers and planted that evidence himself. I think he’s still alive.”

“Really? And none of our entire team of cyber experts could discover that, only you?”

Brett flinched and shrugged. “Well, in their defense it was beautifully done. I mean, it’s like something Stark would have written. Fancy.”

Fury squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Go out and find the evidence.” He laughed. “I’ll even make sure you get assigned as the dead man’s handler, how about that?” He slammed a hand down on his desk as he glared at the young man before him. “However, you’ve got a time limit. Six months. If he’s not found and active in that time, I’m pulling you from field work. Now, still willing to take the chance?”

Brett stood up and saluted. “Yes, sir! Does this mean I’ll have the authority to work out his contract also?”

“Sure, kid. Why not? However, all contracts are approved through me. Don’t promise the dead guy too much, ‘cause I’ll veto it.”

“Thank you, sir!” Brett spun on his heel and let the office, grinning widely. Fury watched him go in confusion. Walker was one of the best of the young ones they had coming up anymore. Unfortunately, they had no superhumans for them to work with. Before he could forget, he updated Walker’s file to reflect being Spider-Man’s handler, not able to stop himself from shaking his head at the sheer silliness of the entire thing.

 

Two days later, Brett let himself into Peter Parker’s house. He’d done all his homework before he approached Fury with the deal. Now, he had to convince Peter that it would be safe to work with him. After Oscorp, he couldn’t think of much better than someone watching your back. He hoped Peter felt the same way. He set the pizza boxes down on the coffee table and carefully set up his laptop and pulled out all his files.

Glancing up at the clock, he had to wipe his sweaty palms off on his trousers before he resumed typing. This meeting with a guy who could kill you with his bare hands was stressful shit. The only thing he had going for him was that all everyone ever said about him was that he was a honest-to-God nice guy.

He stood up as soon as he heard the front door lock rattle and managed to paste a smile on his face. He was faced with a man even younger than himself and who was doing his level best to glare holes in him.

“What the crap are you doing in my house?”

Brett cleared his throat. “Peter Parker. It’s good to meet you. I’m Brett Walker. I’m an Agent of SHIELD.”

Peter’s face lost all color and he stepped backwards, grabbing at the door handle. Seeing his distress, Brett held up his hands.

“Wait! Please wait! I’m not here to cause you any trouble! None at all! In fact, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I admit it. I’ve been a fan of yours for years now! What a kicker it was when I found out that you were younger than I was. For some reason, I always thought you were older.”

Brett pointed towards the coffee table. “I brought dinner. I checked the old files on Captain America and thought that you probably need to eat at least as much. Please…” He slowly sat back down. “Help yourself. The food is yours regardless of how this turns out.”

He waited and Peter finally took his hand off the door handle and made his way over. He laid his backpack in the chair and settled on the floor next to the pizza.

“I’ve got some drinks there in the bag, too.”

Brett watched as Peter started eating. All those classes and field work letting him pick up on the slight tremble in Peter’s hands as he grabbed another slice. The way his eyes closed in bliss as he took another bite… The gaunt look to his face, as though he had been missing too many meals. Peter was hungry.

Which, now that he thought about it, made sense. Even on his pay, he couldn’t afford to eat 20000 calories a day. It would bankrupt him. No way was Peter eating nearly enough. Speculation was that his metabolism was at least as fast as a super soldier.

Only after Peter had slowed down to a moderate pace on his eating, did he even attempt to start again.

“Peter? Might I say that you did a brilliant job of getting away from Oscorp. Absolutely everyone thinks that you’re dead. Except me. You see, I took every available class there was on StarkTech and I recognized some of the code you used when you hacked their servers. It was like… a one in a million chance that I even spotted it, as you had it buried so deeply.”

“Why are you even here? I’m not registered. SHIELD throws the unregistered in jail now.” Peter told him, his eyes wary.

He smiled and shrugged. “Because. I’m trained to support a superhuman and there aren’t any around anymore. I also happen to be a huge fan of yours and the thought of being able to work with you is simply… incredible. Because I think I can help. I’ve been studying the data of this area and there have been no robot attacks anywhere in Queens, Peter. That tells me that you’re still doing your thing, just under the radar.”

He watched as Peter’s gaze got distant. When he didn’t say anything, Brett continued. “I know you and I don’t know each other, Peter. I want to get to know you though. My Dad has posters of you all over the walls of his garage, which is his man-cave. Let me help. I can help you get enough to eat. Even on my salary, I couldn’t afford to eat like you need to. I can also get you seen by a doctor that has worked with superhumans and knows how to handle PTSD. Tell me what you need and I’ll see if I can get it.”

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I’m not exactly superhero material anymore. Oscorp broke me of that, most definitely. I’m also not a team player. Never have been. I don’t think I would work well with someone else telling me what to do. I go out when I can and when I feel good enough. The rest of my time is mine.”

Brett shrugged. “For now, I’m okay with that. You’re currently working all day and I’m guessing that you only go out at night…?”

Peter nodded. “Not always. Sometimes on weekends I’ll go out in the day, but only if the robots are in a more sparsely populated part of the city.”

“Why is it that no one ever gets video of you?”

Peter finished up another slice of pizza, obviously considering whether or not to answer. He finally did. “Stealth units.”

“…What?”

“I made my own stealth units. I’m not interested in drawing attention to myself at all. I want to get it done, remain unseen and get back home.”

“Why do you only go after robots anymore?”

Peter snorted and sipped his Dr. Pepper. “Robots don’t talk about what they’ve seen. Muggers, criminals, rapists, word would get around about the invisible guy taking out people.”

“Gee, now that you said it, it seems so obvious.” 

“So…” Peter gestured to the laptop. “I’m sure you have all the messy details of my life already. What about yours? What made you go into SHIELD? I’ve never understood people that do that.”

“Really? I guess… You did. I told you, I’m a huge fan and all I remember wanting to do was grow up and be able to work with people like you. Of course, I never thought I could actually FIND you or anything, so that makes it even better. But maybe you don’t understand the draw it can have for people like me. We want to help also. I don’t have the abilities to go out and battle robots or anything, so I want to help someone who can.”

Peter finally managed a bit of a grin. “Are you any good at shooting?”

“Shooting? A gun?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess so. We have to remain certified, so I have to put in the time on the range, just like anyone else.”

“Good. I think you can help me take down robots then. It might be nice to have someone else around in case something happens.” Peter told him.

Brett smiled back at him. “Good. I want to help, Peter. Do you think we can work out at least a temporary agreement? I know you don’t want anything permanent yet, but at least a six month trial or something?”

“This will mean that SHIELD will know who I am, won’t it?”

“I’m afraid so, Peter. Although I can see about holding it confidential. I would need to talk to the Director.”

“Fine. Please do then. There are too many crazies in the world and I can’t afford security. SHIELD already had one leak. I don’t want to be an ‘oops’.”

Brett nodded and made notes on his laptop. “Anything else?”

Peter shrugged. “Not really. Just so long as I can go out when I can and not when I’m given orders. I have to work. I can’t be leaving at crazy times.”

Brett nodded and made another note. “So, nights and weekends then would be when you’re available?”

Peter nodded. “That’s right. That’s all I know of.”

Brett cleared his throat. “In that case, let me put in some more items, okay? Things like, SHIELD’s going to feed you. You need to be eating enough to do this, Peter. SHIELD will also provide any supplies you need to go out and battle robots too. I want to get Doctor Sherman Weston assigned to you. He’s one of the best we have in working with PTSD cases and he’s a great person.”

Peter grimaced but didn’t say anything. Brett studied him and nodded. “I would also like to move in here with you. This way I’ll be here when you decide to go out and I can also provide backup if anything happens, okay?”

“That’s fine. In fact, put that in there also. No other Agent but you, okay? Last thing I need is for you to be replaced with some straight laced paper pusher.” 

Brett grinned. “I can most definitely do that, Peter. Now, with your permission, I’d like to see if I can get Doctor Weston to come down and get your baseline physical. I know it’s probably going to be traumatic for you, but we need to know what’s ‘normal’ for you and I need proof that you’re really Spider-Man. I’m not joking when I say that everyone thinks you’re dead, Peter.”

He pulled out his phone and pointed it at the pizza. “For goodness sake, eat up! I bought all of that for you!”

Peter’s eyes lit up and he grabbed another piece before standing up and grabbing his backpack. He made his way up the stairs, apparently to drop it off. Tapping Dr. Weston’s number, he waited for the man to pick up.

“Hey, Weston here.”

“Hi Doctor Weston! This is Brett Walker. I had you as my instructor during the Field Medical training last summer.”

“Yeah, I remember you. What’s wrong?”

“Well, nothing actually. I was wondering if you were interested in having a superhuman assigned to you once more.”

The phone line went silent. “Doctor Weston?”

“I’m still here. Did I hear you right?”

“You did. I was given clearance by Director Fury to track down Spider-Man. I found him, Doctor. He needs his baseline physical and I need proof I can give to the Director. I’ve already gotten the contract roughed out.”

“Holy SHIT! You’re SERIOUS?!”

Brett laughed. “I am, Doctor. Peter has some serious trauma in his past though and has a terrible case of PTSD. If you’re willing to come down, I can send the files to you right now. You’ll need to know what to expect and how to handle him.”

“Oh, wow… wow… wow… I thought that all but the Avengers were dead, Brett. This is amazing! Send me the files right away and I’ll start rounding up my gear. You gonna give me the address?”

“Sure will. It will be in the packet I’m sending you.”

“Good. I’ll be there hopefully within the hour.”

“Thanks, Doctor Weston.”

“No, Brett. Thank YOU! I thought I’d lost my chance to work with any superhumans. You just don’t know how much this means to me…”

“Hey, you’re talking to a Spider-Man fan here. I think I understand.”

“Good! I’ll see you in just a bit.” Sherman told him before hanging up.

Brett couldn’t help but smile a bit giddily. ‘Spider-Man…’

 

At ten that evening, Brett was finishing up his paperwork to get Spider-Man on the active rolls. Peter had already shown him the bedroom he could claim and he’d made arrangements to get his bed delivered tomorrow. At the sound of footsteps, he looked up in time to see Doctor Weston set down across the table from him.

“Is Peter okay?”

Sherman nodded. “He is. You’re right in that he’s not been eating nearly enough. We need to make arrangements to see about getting a cook for him.”

“I know. I’ve included the request in my paperwork.”

“Good. Other than that, he’s in far better physical shape than any of us, let me tell you. He’s also most definitely Spider-Man. It took some talking, but I finally got a blood sample from him and checked it. His DNA is riddled with that of a spider’s. Fascinating stuff really.”

“Can you give me something I can include then stating that as fact? No one’s going to believe me otherwise.”

Sherman barked a laugh. “You’re right. I had forgotten that officially, he’s still dead.”

“Is he asleep?”

“Yeah. One thing that not eating enough is doing to him is making him sleepy. He should be a lot more active once we get some serious calories in him. I’m getting the Med-Alert tags made up for him. I plan on sticking to his ass like super glue, but just in case he’s hurt and I’m not around, they’ll need to call me first.”

“Good idea, Doctor.”

“I’m also going to have to get one of the medical jets down and run a few more tests. I’ve got to know the rate at which he can metabolize drugs, so that I can sedate him safely.”

“Oh boy, that’ll be fun.”

“Yeah. Tell me about it.” Sherman said with a grimace.

“Just let me know what you need, Doctor and I can turn in the requests for it. I’ll be here most of the time for the foreseeable future. Peter and I have to get used to working together. He’s already told me that he’s not a team player, so it might take some getting used to.”

They both fell silent as they worked on their paperwork. Both were determined to give Fury no reason to pull them from this one.

 

Brett looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Peter had been astonished to say the least when he was faced with breakfast the next morning. When Brett had handed him the bag filled with his lunch, he’d thought Peter’s eyes were going to bug out of his head.

“Hey, Peter!” He called out and smiled when he came into the room. “Dinner’s ready.”

“This… You’re telling me the truth then? SHIELD is going to pay to feed me in exchange for taking down robots?”

“Yep.” 

Peter slung his backpack over the chair and sat down. “This is awesome!”

Brett laughed, eating his dinner as Peter dug in. It was only once they’d both finished eating that Peter spoke up again.

“I’m going to the database tonight. Did you want to come?”

“…the database?”

“Yeah. It’s my hobby. I get the robots, take them back, tear them down and figure out how to drop them faster.”

Brett’s eyes widened with every word. “You’re serious?”

Peter’s eyebrows shot up. “Of course.” He pulled out his phone and typed something in quickly before handing it to him. “See? The database.”

Brett picked up the phone and found himself looking at a basic search screen. “What do I do?’

“I made it searchable by pretty general terms. Type in flying bug robot and see what comes up.”

Brett did it and fourteen links came up. “Just click on any of them?”

“Yeah. The page format’s the same, but the information is different.”

Brett spent a few minutes reading all of the information on the page. There was a general summary, detailed schematics, videos and news articles and most importantly, a ‘how to take down or destroy’ page. 

“Peter…” He said slowly. “You actually have these anti-robot weapons made up?”

“I do. Although I usually just throw them and don’t use the air rifle.”

Brett handed him back the phone. “This is outstanding. I most definitely want to go!”

Peter smiled at him and nodded before getting to his feet to clean up. “Good. Once I get this done, we’ll head out.”

“Where is it anyway? Can we walk there?”

“No. I usually take the subway and then walk. It’s in an old underground base of Doc Oc’s.”

“In that case, I’m driving us.” He told him. “I hate the subway.”

Peter laughed. “No New Yorker would ever say such a thing!”

“Well, this one does. I got my license and never looked back.”

A short time later, Brett had his car parked in front of a roll up door and Peter had already gone inside to open it. As soon as he had the car safely inside, he shut it off and jumped out, staring around him in stunned silence.

“Welcome to the database, Brett.” Peter told him with a grin. “I’ve been doing this for just over 8 years now. I’ve collected a lot of supervillain crap here, let me tell you.”

Brett managed to pick his jaw up off the floor. As far as he could see were shelves and homemade hangers full of robots, robot parts and electronics of all shapes and sizes.

“Peter…? ALL of this is in your database?”

“Sure. Doesn’t SHIELD do the same thing? I mean, you guys must have a massive database to use.” Peter told him before heading down the aisle. Brett trailed off after him, trying to see everything at once.

They finally made their way to what was obviously Peter’s work area. It had a huge table surrounded by shelves full of equipment and a partially disassembled robot on the main table.

“Here’s where I tear them down and get the information I need. Over there in the corner are the robots I took down but haven’t added yet.” He told him, pointing to the other side of the work area. Brett could see at least three different types.

“Feel free to look around. I only have limited wi-fi here. Oh, all of the outlets are powered, so you can plug in if you need to. Otherwise, I’ll be busy right here.”

“Deal!” Brett told him before heading out to investigate. He spent a couple of hours poking through robots alone. There were hundreds of them in here. The thought that Peter had been taking down so many of them… SHIELD had no idea that Peter was the reason robots weren’t causing more havoc than they were.

He found the power room on his way back to Peter. Pushing the door open, once more he found himself speechless. Even though he’d only gotten some theoretical knowledge of it in his classes, he knew what it was. A Chitauri power generator. Working. Here in the database. As far as he knew, no one had gotten anywhere on the Chitauri tech and Fury wouldn’t let Stark have a go at it. He pulled the door closed and leaned against the wall. Peter was a genius. Like… Like a Stark-level genius.

He’d almost made it back to Peter when he found the cabinets full of drawers. Each of the drawers was carefully labeled and he opened one, picking up a blue colored bullet. Remembering that Peter had told him that the anti-robot weapons were built already, he nodded. These numbers… This information was on the page he’d seen. So in other words, you pulled up your robot, checked to see what you needed. Ran out here, grabbed it and went out to take down robots. 

“It’s fuckin’ awesome!”

Still grinning, he finally settled on a stool in Peter’s workshop and opened up his laptop. He had a report to make on this one.

 

Brett sighed as he filled out his latest report. Six months now and almost 100 robot battles later and… He was pretty sure that his boss thought it was all bullshit. He’d invited Hill down many times, but she’d sneered and rolled her eyes every time. Apparently, no one could believe that Peter was indeed smart enough to fool SHIELD.

“It makes me sick.”

Brett looked up at Sherman in surprise. “What does?”

“No one will take this seriously. Peter kicks ass and makes it look effortless. He’s saved millions of dollars in property here in New York and my colleagues think I’m crazy. I’ve provided actual physical proof. I’ve submitted all the right documentation, but…”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” Brett said before sighing again. “It’s depressing. It’s only because of him that things have been as quiet as they’re thinking. We go out between 3 and 5 times every single week. That crazy radar of his works like a charm.”

“No respect. He’s not getting any respect at all for everything he does. I asked him about it tonight and he laughed at me, Brett. He said ‘I never got any respect for doing this. People used to throw trash at him and the NYPD shot him once. Don’t do it for the gratitude of others. Find your own reasons.’ Can you believe that? I always thought Spider-Man was insanely popular, but not according to Peter.”

“He’s just happy to be eating.” Brett said as he finished up his report. “He doesn’t care if people know he’s out there doing this or not.”

“I care. I want people to know how good he is.” Sherman told him. “Without him, New York would be a damn battlefield.”

“Yeah.” Brett said before his phone rang. “Walker.”

“Alright Walker. It’s time to bring your second rate imaginary friend out of the closet. The Avengers have run into an enemy they can’t handle. Iron Man is out with injuries and these robots are destroying War Machine, Wasp and Ant Man. I’m sending the information to you right now. Be here or be fired.” ‘Click’

Brett swallowed hard and plugged his phone into his laptop, pulling up the file she’d just sent him. He checked each one against the database, making notes on which bullets to use on each one.

“Sherman, can you get Peter up? We just got a call. The Avengers are being destroyed by a cloud of robots and we’ve got to assist immediately if we hope to save their lives.”

“Done. I’ll get him up and tell him to gear up. I’ll get my bag and meet you guys at the door, okay?”

Brett loaded up his gear and grabbed his bag. He kept the anti-robot bullets in the trunk, along with a couple of air rifles. He’d worked out a pretty good system of his own over these last few months. Peter came bounding down the stairs in his suit, putting his comm. in his ear and fastening the cable. All he’d have to do is pull his mask on.

“You got everything, Peter?”

“Yeah. Plenty of web fluid, so I’m set. Do you know what we’ll be up against?”

“There are three of the large, green robots. Your database says they’re made by ‘the Thinker’.”

“Oh. Those suck.”

“Yeah. There are also four varieties of others. I’ve got photos and looked them up. Three of them you’ve already done. The fourth one isn’t in the database. It’s small, fast and bright red. If you can figure out how to drop them, let me know and I’ll work on those also.”

“Deal.”

Sherman came running upstairs with his bag in hand. “I’m ready.”

“Good. Let’s go. I don’t know how much time we have.”

The three of them jumped in his car and Peter activated the stealth unit, so he couldn’t be seen while driving. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t bad and they were at the police barricades in just over 20 minutes. A long damn time in a fight, that was for sure. Brett jumped out and started getting his gear together. Sherman doing the same thing next to him. Peter was still invisible and hanging onto his arm to let him know where he was.

The three of them made their way forward, both Brett and Sherman flashing their SHIELD IDs as they made their way through the chaos. They were finally able to see the SHIELD vans parked crossways in the road and headed for them.

“Peter? This time, when we get the okay for you to engage, don’t use stealth, okay?”

“What?” Peter’s voice sounded a bit uneven. He still didn’t do well in crowds and this one was crazy.

“I mean it. Sherman and I, we know how you work now. I don’t want anyone having an excuse to do something stupid. As soon as we get cleared to engage, you can drop the stealth then and go. This is important.”

“He’s right, Peter. We need everyone out here to know where you are.” Sherman told him and they both heard Peter sigh.

“Fine.”

“WALKER!” An irate, trim woman in professional attire was glaring holes at them. “Where the hell have you been?”

“We’re based in Queens. It took just over 20 minutes to get here, sir.” Brett said stiffly.

His boss, Ms. Hill actually sneered at him again. “Excuses. I’ve no patience for children. That you bothered to show up at all is beyond believable. I definitely don’t see a superhuman here.”

Peter’s hand was squeezing his arm tighter and tighter. “He’s here, sir. Do you want us to engage?”

“No. This is serious and not some third rate comedy hour!” She snapped. “I was ordered to call in all available backup and you losers are it.”

Behind her, a huge man with an eyepatch was pushing his way out of the crowd. “You are way the hell out of line, Hill.” The huge man turned his gaze on Brett who straightened up and saluted.

“Sir! We are ready to engage.”

He studied them for what felt like forever before he waved them forward. “This way.” It was a quick walk to the front line and all of them sucked in a breath at the destruction stretching before them.

“Yeah. This one’s real bad.” He turned that forbidding gaze on him. “Don’t let me down. Coulson! Pass the word. Spider-Man’s going to intervene.”

An older man crouched behind a car looked over at him in shock but nodded and touched his earpiece, talking.

“How far away are they, sir?”

“End of the block and they’ll be visible.”

“Good. Sherman? Peter? Let’s go.”

“Peter?” Fury echoed as Peter suddenly rippled into view, jumping over the line of cars and bounding off down the street. Sherman and he ran along behind him. If it wasn’t safe here, Peter would have already told them. The two of them could hear the sounds of explosions and what sounded like debris hitting the ground.

“Hey, Brett? Got your spot picked out. I had to move a couple of cars, but it should be good sniping. I’ll start sending them your way.”

“Deal. We’re setting up now.”

They drug the bags full of anti-robot bullets over and lined them up. Sherman had insisted on coming along after the first couple. Doctors were also required to stay licensed on the range and he was a fine shot.

“We’re ready!”

“First one! EMF!”

An odd silver colored robot came falling into range and Brett lined up, firing. It sparked and jerked before plowing into the ground and staying down. After that, it was fast and furious as Peter kicked them out of the sky and into their range. The swirling knot of robots above the street was getting more and more agitated as they worked. Peter was a barely seen blur bouncing between them and dropping everything he didn’t send to them.

“Alright guys. The little red guys should be susceptible to high voltage. Try and aim for the eyes on them. They’re heavily shielded.”

“Go ahead.”

The first one slammed into the ground at high speed and slowly climbed back to his feet. Sherman shot it and it wavered for a moment before falling over motionless.

“Hell, yeah! It worked, Peter.”

“Good! Have fun then, I’ll send more your way.”

It turned into a veritable deluge of robots. Some were simply ripped to pieces by Peter but he was doing his best to send the rest to them. It took them a half hour before the endless robot rain finally slowed and Peter dropped to one of the buildings.

“Alright. I’m seeing three of the Thinker’s big green boys. Is that what you’ve got?”

“Yeah. Three of them are what was reported.”

“I’m off then. I’ve got to drop each of them three times. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Thanks, Peter.”

A red and blue blur exploded away from the building as Peter swung straight up and launched himself at the first one. They collided in mid-air and Peter twisted, throwing the robot to the ground with a deafening ‘boom’. He was already gone though, landing on the second and rolling it, just in time for the laser from the third to hit the robot instead of him. He dropped it and it fell to the ground near the first one. A spectacular rolling flip and Peter had the third by the head as he completed his flip and sent the last one crashing into the ground.

The three green robots rose almost in unison, laser units popping out from their shoulders as they aimed at him. The robots covered the area with a wide-spread laser array, but Peter was far too fast to be hit. He wove through the lasers which shut off in moments and all three robots took to the air and so did Peter. This time, the action was much too fast to be seen as he worked his way through them. One by one, they were laid out on the street again.

Now Peter dropped to the street near them and as soon as one got up, he put it right back down. As he did, he’d jump away as the robot self-destructed within seconds. When the smoke finally cleared, Brett could see Peter walking towards them.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Isn’t that my line?” Sherman said, grabbing his bag and walking forward. “I see at least one cut on your arm. Anything else?”

Sherman was busy checking over Peter while Brett called in the all clear. In moments, the area was flooded with SHIELD personnel. He saw a couple of medical squads running towards one of the side streets. Must be where the Avengers were.

“Son of a bitch, kid. You don’t play around, do you?” A deep voice rumbled. “The Avengers have been wrestling those guys for more than 4 hours. Ya’ll took’em out in 30 minutes.”

Brett saluted. “Thank you, Director! We try our best.”

“Good job.” He patted him on the shoulder and headed off towards the side street that the others had gone into. 

“WALKER!” Brett winced, hearing the strident tones of his boss. She was raging, fit to be tied, and furious from the looks of it. “How DARE you? You made me look like an idiot in front of everyone! I’ll make sure you pay for this gross insubordination! You’ll be tossed out of SHIELD so fast that you’re not even going to know what happened.”

Brett felt himself slowly slumping under her withering comments. He wasn’t sure why she hated him so badly, but nothing he did was right around her. Everyone around them was giving them a wide berth, not wanting to catch any of that. When he felt a hand land on his shoulder, he actually jumped.

“Hey Brett. Looks like we’ll be leaving SHIELD then, buddy. I still have my house and my job, so we can stay afloat for a while. Deal?”

His boss had fallen silent at the red and blue clad figure’s words, but happily jumped in as soon as he stopped. She actually walked up and poked her finger into his chest.

“You! You’re under contract you costumed clown! You’d best get used to taking orders like every other soldier in this damn unit-…” Her voice cut off sharply as Peter’s hand closed around hers.

“Now, Ms. Whoever the hell you are, understand one thing. As stated in my contract, I am free to break it at any time for any reason. It also states quite clearly that Brett and Sherman are the ONLY two people I’m willing to work with. If you decide that’s unacceptable, well… I was better off without knowing you.”

Ms. Hill had been paling rapidly as Peter shoved her backwards, step by step. “I believe that it’s best if you stay over here. We’ll get our things and get out of your space right now.”

Peter turned around and Brett stared at him, eyes huge. “You ready?”

He nodded jerkily. “I am. Let’s go.”

“Sherman? You coming?”

“Of course. I want to make sure that cut on your back doesn’t need a stitch or two.”

They gathered their gear quickly and once it was assembled, Brett drug out his ID and gave it to her with a nod. Sherman handed his to her also and the three of them activated their stealth units, vanishing from sight.

By the next morning, he’d gotten a better outlook on the whole situation. Peter was the only one not very upset. He’d been going along without SHIELD all this time now, he saw no reason to worry about it. Sherman had helped him get breakfast ready, so they could feed Peter before he headed out to work. The poor guy had a whopping two hours of sleep in him and was yawning all the way out the door.

Now, it was late afternoon and he was sitting at the table across from Sherman. They were both looking at the job ads on line. They both needed to start working again, soon. When someone knocked on the front door, all they could do was stare at each other for a moment before Brett rose to his feet.

“I’ll get it.”

He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves up before pulling the door open. When he saw who was on the other side, all he could do was stare.

“Hell, Agent. You gonna let me in?” Director Fury said.

Brett cleared his throat. “Actually, no. This is not my house and I do not have the right to invite people in without the owner’s permission. After last night, Peter’s not feeling very fond of SHIELD.”

Fury snorted and stepped forward, shoving him to the side. “After we showed our asses last night, who can blame him? Doctor, you in here?”

“In the kitchen.” Sherman answered and Brett frowned, following along. An older Agent was trailing him, loaded down with electronics. Fury pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, the Agent sitting next to him.

“Hey Doc. The guy next to me is Phil Coulson. He’s the handler for the Avengers.”

Brett settled back into his chair as Sherman asked how they were doing.

“They’re going to be out of commission for a while after yesterday. None of them have enhanced healing. We’ll have Stark out of the hospital before any of the others.”

Fury pulled their badges out of his pocket and threw them on the table. “Now, I’d like to know why the hell you didn’t come to me when you realized that Hill wasn’t taking you seriously.”

Brett cleared his throat. “Sir? I did try. I submitted 7 requests for an appointment with you and Ms. Hill said that if I submitted another, she’d write me up.”

Fury leaned back. “Shit. I wonder if there’s anyone else she’s been screwing over. Make a note, Phil. I need to have meetings with each of her Agents.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, we’ve spent the last few hours getting caught up on all the reports you’ve turned in. I’ve also got your cook coming back down. He was thrilled actually. Apparently he really likes Spider-Man.”

“Bob’s great.” Sherman said.

Brett nodded and Agent Phil spoke. “According to the system, Spider-Man has logged almost 100 missions in the last six months. All of them against robots, is that correct?”

“It is. I included all of the information in the reports.” Brett said stiffly.

“Why isn’t he going out and fighting crime like he used to?” Fury asked.

“He wasn’t registered and didn’t want to draw attention to himself, sir. Those habits are ones he doesn’t want to break.”

“Tell me why exactly we are catering to his wants anyway, Agent. Superhumans get to work when we need them to, not when they feel like it.” Fury told him. “That a serious lack of discipline.”

“Lack of discipline!?” Brett rose to his feet and grabbed the badge Fury had put on the table, tossing it back at him. “Take your damn badge and GET OUT! Peter has done more for this city in 6 months than the Avengers have done in the last 4 and a half years! I’m sick of hearing this. GET.OUT.”

“Sit your ass back down, Walker.” Fury growled out. All of them froze when they heard the front door lock rattle. A quick glance at the clock confirmed it. Peter was home.

“Hey Brett, Sherman! Who’s got the car out front?”

“In here, Peter.” Brett called back. “It’s SHIELD.”

Peter walked into the kitchen slowly, his ever present backpack slung over his shoulder. He’d been around him enough now to read the deep mistrust Peter had in the strangers in his house.

“Peter, I’d like to introduce you to the Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury. The other man is Agent Phil Coulson, the Avengers handler.”

“Cool. Why are you people in my kitchen?” Peter asked them directly.

“Just clearing the air, kid.” Fury told him. “Have a seat.”

“No thanks. Considering it’s my house, I’ll be doing what I’d like.” Peter said before turning and heading upstairs. Brett looked back to see Fury’s lips tighten into a thin line.

“You see? No discipline. That has to be handled, Walker. Hell Coulson’s even been able to get Stark to tow the line. One punk kid shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Punk kid, huh?” Peter said as he reappeared silently. “Tow the line? Lack discipline? The insults are endless from SHIELD aren’t they? First Hill and now you. You even had the nerve to come to my home and insult me.”

“Sit the hell DOWN, kid.” Fury growled out. “You can listen but not speak. This is SHIELD business.”

For the first time since he’d known him, Brett saw anger flicker across Peter’s face before vanishing. He turned to Brett and Sherman.

“Do you guys want to continue this conversation with him?”

They both shook their heads. “No. I’ve already asked him to leave.”

“Done.” Peter turned back to Fury. “Get out.”

Fury rolled his eyes. “God, kids now days. Sit down for god’s sake. We want to see the database also. We’ll need one of you to take us over there tonight.”

“No.” Peter told him.

“Shut up, kid. Still SHIELD business here.”

“I think that you’re misunderstanding me here, Fury. The database isn’t SHIELD business. It’s mine. Completely and totally a private effort, run entirely on my private equipment. Nothing at all to do with SHIELD.” Peter snapped out, hands curling into fists.

“It’s actually not too bad either. An amateur job, but I’ve turned Stark loose on it and told him to turn it into something useful. He’ll be able to turn it into a pretty nice tool for the field.” Coulson said.

Peter pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed something in. “TED, initiate isolation. Override, override, override.” He hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Alright, now I have yet another breach of contract. I asked for almost nothing. I want the freedom to do my thing when I’m off work – not during work hours. You just stated that I should be available ‘whenever’ or I lack discipline. I wanted my identity to remain a secret and yet look – here are yet two more SHIELD agents sitting in my home that DON’T need to know. Third, you’re trespassing. This is my house and I didn’t invite you in. Fourth, you illegally hacked my personal server which is a Federal crime, by the way. Lastly, it is at my discretion to cancel my contract at any time for any reason.”

Peter leaned forward, staring intently at Fury. “I spent 6 months strapped to a table, being cut apart in Oscorp. SHIELD never worried about me then, even though you had the place under surveillance. I don’t trust you OR your organization. I only agreed to this mess because of Brett and Sherman. Now – one last time before I throw you out. Get OUT.” Peter growled out.

Coulson’s phone suddenly rang, interrupting the tense atmosphere. “Coulson.” He listened intently before suddenly frowning.

“Just what did you do? Stark says the database went down.”

“None of your business. It’s mine and I’ll do what I want to with it.”

“He won’t tell me. Just get JARVIS to get you back in. Yeah. Okay.” Coulson hung up the phone and Peter was white around the lips as he watched the interaction. Fury finally seemed to get a clue as he stood up slowly and grabbed Coulson’s arm.

“Walker. Weston. I expect you to get this shit figured out and contact me in the morning.” Fury said, pulling Coulson with him. They went wide around Peter, who turned to watch them leave. As soon as the front door closed, Brett stood up.

“Peter, I am so sorry about all of this! I had no idea that it would turn out this way!”

Peter shrugged. “I told you that I didn’t understand why anyone would want to join SHIELD.” He sighed and vanished back out the door. Sherman and Brett traded looks.

“No respect. That’s what it all comes back down to. For whatever reason, no one respects Peter or what he’s capable of.” Sherman said. “I have the feeling that Peter’s going to run.”

“Me, too. And I can’t blame him.”

“Neither can I, although I plan on going with him. I set myself up an alternate identity several years ago now. Someone’s got to make sure that he eats enough and doesn’t get hurt. I’ll do it.”

Brett grimaced. “I haven’t done it. There’s no way I can go.”

“I know.” Sherman patted his arm. 

 

Nick Fury glanced up at the clock for the one millionth time this morning. It was almost 1pm and he’d not heard from either Walker or Weston. With the Avengers down, Spider-Man was the only superhuman they had left on the roster. They needed him in play like… immediately.

When the door to his office finally opened, he found it was Coulson. “What is it?”

The Agent saluted. “Neither Stark nor JARVIS was able to get back into the database. Apparently, the server was completely taken down. I sent someone by Peter’s job and he turned in his immediate resignation this morning. No one’s seen him since. The Agent reported that his house is deserted.”

“Son of a BITCH!” Fury ground out. “He ran?”

“Apparently, sir. However, the Agent did find Walker. He’s currently at his parents’ house.”

Fury tapped his fingers on the desk as he thought it over. “Bring him in. He’s our only link right now.”

It took less than an hour before Brett Walker was sitting in the chair in front of his desk. He stared at the young man he’d always thought had a bright future in SHIELD.

“What the hell happened?”

Walker’s frown was so quick and fierce that his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“You did. You and Coulson. And of course, my boss, Ms. Hill. No matter what Peter did, it wasn’t good enough.”

He sighed. “Kids. Enough of that. Explain to me why Peter felt he had to run.”

“He told you yesterday, sir. You approved his contract, so you should already know the details of it.” Walker snapped back at him. Fury pulled it up on his monitor and read it over. It was brief.

“Shit. I’m afraid I didn’t remember this one. We weren’t even paying him?”

“No, sir.”

“No benefits?”

“No, sir.”

“We weren’t even buying the supplies for his anti-robot equipment?”

“No, sir.”

 

“The only thing he wanted was to do it around his work hours, get medical treatment if needed and be fed? That’s it?”

“Actually, all Peter asked for was to be able to go out when he wasn’t at work and felt good enough to do so. He then decided that he wanted the option of breaking his contract if he needed to for any reason and lastly, he had me put in there that he would work with no other Agents than myself or Doc Sherman. Everything else, I added.”

Fury leaned back in his chair. “Shit. I should have read this yesterday, but everything turned into a clusterfuck with the Avengers.”

It went quiet in his office as he thought about it. “For right now, I need you to lead Coulson and myself to the database. We need the information desperately. You and Sherman were taking down the robots also.”

Walker snorted. “This is crazy. You guys have been doing this for decades. Coulson has had the Avengers running for almost a decade. Why the desperation? In all that time, I’m sure that Stark and Coulson must have a monstrous database of information built up. I’m sure that doesn’t hold a candle to the one SHIELD must have. I mean, if an ‘incompetent amateur’ such as Peter can put one together in his off hours, then yours must be gold plated.”

“Why the attitude? You know we don’t have anything like that.”

“Actually, sir. I don’t know that. SHIELD compartmentalizes, of course.” Walker fired back.

“What’s it going to take, Walker? We need Spider-Man active asap. The Avengers are down and will be down for a minimum of six weeks.”

“Fury.” Walker snapped. “Six months, Sherman and I have teamed up with Peter. A nicer, more decent human being you will never meet. His PTSD is terrible though. Oscorp worked him over but good. Even then, it still only took him a few weeks to trust us. We went out on almost a hundred missions. No property damage. Hell, no one even noticed! He’s just that damn smooth. And yet, almost every report I submitted earned me a new reaming from my boss. No matter what Peter did, it was never good enough. After all, the Avengers were always better.”

Walker sighed. “Sherman and I got pretty frustrated with the way that all of you blew him off and he finally told us that he was used to it. He said that people used to throw trash at him and the NYPD actually shot him. He told us that we needed to find our own reasons for doing it, as the public has no gratitude for it. I can guarantee you. Peter no longer has any interest in working with SHIELD.”

“I don’t have time to pander to the wishes of others. I’ve got a country to protect.” Fury growled out and Walker shrugged. 

“You’ve killed all the superhumans off by doing it ‘your way’. They’re gone and they’re not coming back. I’ve studied the reports, sir. Mutants and superhumans… Evidently it was a one time deal for the human race.”

Fury pressed a button and his door opened. “Take Walker to a holding cell and let him think his options over carefully.”

“Yes, sir!”

Walker was dragged away, protesting as the two Agents manhandled him out the door. Fury sat in silence for the longest time, thinking about what Walker had said before he left. No matter how he looked at it… It was true.

 

Sherman watched as Peter continued to work on a pair of eyeglasses. He had to admit, he’d been beyond surprised when Peter brought them to the database to stay. He knew now though. Peter was an inventor of the highest order and didn’t want to leave his workshop. Sherman leaned back in his chair and smiled at the intense concentration on Peter’s face.

No need to worry about money either. Peter had several patents already licensed out to companies and had 2.4 million in the bank. He shook his head. Brett had told him Peter was a genius, but damn… It was something to see. The only downside was that Peter didn’t want to spend any of it. Too many years of struggling to make ends meet and he kept his money squirreled away. They’d had quite the argument before Sherman convinced him that he HAD to eat. No excuses.

His attention was pulled back to Peter when he hissed out a ‘Yessss!’ before disconnecting the glasses from his equipment and putting them into the case. A bag was pulled out and the case stuffed inside of it before sitting it on the table. Peter rounded up a hard-shelled case and started putting folders in it quickly.

“Hey, Sherman?”

“What is it, Peter?”

“If I give them a copy of the database as it currently is, do you think they’d let Brett go?”

Sherman frowned. “Who knows with Fury? I surely don’t.”

Peter sighed. “You’re probably right. They couldn’t use my anti-robot bullets anyway as I’ve patented them also. They’d have to make their own.”

Sherman laughed. “That’s what Stark does. I can offer it to them if you’d like, but I don’t know if they’ll let him go.”

Peter looked over at him, zipping up the backpack. “Can you do it without getting caught though? You could end up in a cell next to him, you know.”

“I’ve got a black market phone I picked up due to my paranoia. It keeps my signal bouncing around endlessly, making it untraceable.”

Peter smiled. “Cool.” He pointed to a box on his shelf. “I copied the database and stripped it of the anti-robot weapon information. It’s complete as of yesterday. If they’ll trade, then let’s do it. Brett shouldn’t be sitting in a cell because he’s an honorable guy.”

Sherman smiled and got to his feet. “I’ll do it then. What about you?”

Peter patted his backpack. “I’ve got a handful more patents filled out that I need submitted and I’ve got three more licensing offers to review. I’m headed to the lawyer.”

“What are the glasses for?”

“One of them is blind. Optic nerve damage. The glasses will use micro cameras for video and the glasses will break the signal down, broadcasting it directly to the visual cortex of the brain, allowing him to see again. Well, as long as he’s wearing the glasses anyway.”

Sherman stared at him in shock for a minute as his brain processed what he’d just said. “My GOD, Peter! Do you know how many people you could help with those?!”

He nodded. “The glasses are one of the patents I’m submitting today.”

Sherman blew his breath out in a huff. “You’re a genius’s genius, man! Incredible!”

Peter just laughed. “Whatever. I’ve gotta go or I’ll be late for my appointment. You be damn careful, Sherman!”

“I will. Believe me. I will.”

 

Peter walked into Matt and Foggy’s law office that afternoon. Karen smiled when she saw him, standing up and rushing over to hug him.

“Peter! It’s good to see you!”

He patted her back. “You, too. I’m not late, am I?”

“Oh, no.” She said, letting him go. “Let me go check, but I’ll bet they tell me just to send you on in.” She headed down the hall, heels clicking on the floor. Peter studied the law office of his friends, noticing some changes. They’d gotten new furniture for the waiting room for one. Oh, and Karen had a new desk and computer, too.

“Peter? Come on, they’re waiting.”

Peter followed, slipping through the door Karen was holding open and into Foggy’s office. “Hey, guys!”

“Peter!” They both answered in unison.

“We’ve got all of the offers ready for your review.”

“Good. I’ve brought a bunch more patents that I need submitted too.” He pulled his backpack around and dug out the case, sitting it on the desk. He then pulled out the bag of eyeglasses and set it on the desk in front of Matt.

“These are for you.”

Matt’s attention turned to the bag and he fumbled with it for a few seconds before opening it. He pulled out the first case, studying it.

“An eyeglass case?”

“With glasses in it!” Peter said cheerfully. Matt looked totally confused and he finally laughed.

“I invent things, Matt. It’s what I do. Those glasses are camera equipped and I’ve designed the circuitry to allow the video feed to be correctly deconstructed and broadcast directly into your visual cortex. They’re extremely low powered and run off your body’s own energy. No need for a battery.”

Matt froze and Foggy gasped. “Peter…! Does that mean…?”

“Yep. I’ve run about 10,000 tests on them and they’re working smoothly. Try them out, Matt. Let me know.”

Matt’s hands were shaking as he fumbled with the pair on him now, dropping them to the desk. He carefully flipped open the case and pulled out the glasses, slipping them on.

“Matt, the video feed stops if you close your eyes for more than 2 seconds and restarts as soon as you open them, okay? Close your eyes if it gets to be too much.” Peter told him quickly and Matt nodded.

Peter felt a grin stretch across his face at the look of absolute wonder on Matt’s face as he looked up. He finally turned to look at his friend and raised a hand to touch him.

“Foggy… I can see you…” Matt said, voice wobbly. Foggy just threw his arms around him and the two of them cried. It took a bit before Matt was up and exploring the office and then the view from the window and then Peter himself.

“It’s good to have a face to go with the heartbeat, Peter.” Matt hugged him tightly. “I can never repay you for this. Ever. You have no idea what being able to see means to me.” Matt said softly.

“Well, I had some idea. It’s why I’ve been working on the glasses for you. The bag is full of spares, as I’m sure you’re going to break some.”

Foggy laughed behind them. “You know him well, Peter!”

Matt huffed and straightened up, returning to the other side of the desk. It wound up taking most of the rest of the afternoon to get all the paperwork completed. When they finished, Foggy spoke up.

“So? Are you going to try for an exchange?”

“Exchange what?”

“To get Brett away from SHIELD!”

Peter sighed. “What a mess it is right now. Sherman’s going to give it a go, but I don’t know if it will work.”

Matt leaned forward. “You call me if you need backup, damn it!”

Peter managed a grin. “I would, but I’m not going to need backup! Things will go okay. Sherman’s a pro.”

Peter wound up hugging the both of them before leaving that afternoon. He started the long walk back home. He was three-quarters of the way there when he got a text from Sherman.

Call me please.

Peter frowned and hit his number, his phone dialing. Sherman picked it up on the first ring.

“Hey, Peter. Are you done?”

“Yeah. I’m on my way back now.”

“Good. I’ve got Brett and Director Fury here with me. No one else. They both would like to speak with you without any interruptions. We’re at the pizza place on 19th. Can you come?”

Peter paused but didn’t get even a twitch out of his spider-sense. He sighed. “Alright. It’s going to take me nearly 45 minutes to get there though. I’m a long way away.”

“Take a cab.”

“And pay those prices? I think not. I’ll be walking.”

“Take a cab then and I’ll pay for it!” Sherman said and Peter snorted.

“No thanks. I’ll get there when I get there. I’m not all that excited about talking to SHIELD.”

The line was quiet before Sherman spoke. “Deal. We’ll all be waiting here.”

 

Nick Fury listened in on the conversation and finally nodded. At least Peter had come out with the truth. He didn’t want to come and talk. It was only his friendship with Sherman and Brett that was bringing him. SHIELD as an organization had really showed their ass to him.

He’d had Brett in his office this morning, talking over ways they could bring Spider-Man into SHIELD full-time. Quite simply, there weren’t very many options. Peter didn’t trust them. At all. But after their discussions, he’d finally decided to go with Brett and Sherman’s method of allowing Peter to work when he could, as long as he would come out on emergency calls the next two months. They had nobody else.

Brett had finally started nodding in agreement and when Sherman called to propose a trade of the database for Walker, Fury had jumped at the chance to talk to both of them. They’d been sitting in this pizzeria for more than two hours, talking over options.

It was a narrow road he had to walk on right now. Peter didn’t need to help them and even worse, he didn’t WANT to help them now. He needed to convince him to go back to what they had set up previously at least and they could work on expanding his trust over time. Fury sighed and when the doorbell rang, they all looked over at the door, finding the familiar face of Peter Parker. He looked grim as he walked over and sat down at the far end of the table, as far away from him as he could get.

“Brett. You look good. At least they didn’t treat you badly while you were locked up.” Peter told him and Brett nodded.

“SHIELD treats their prisoners well, Peter. It’s good to see you though! Sherman told me that he’s still having to fuss with you to eat enough.”

“Sherman worries too much.” Peter told him and Sherman groaned.

“You need to eat more than any of us, Peter. I’ve got pizza ordered for you here and when it comes out, you’re going to eat it!” He ordered and Peter finally smiled a bit at him.

“You’re a dictator, Sherman.”

“I’m a Doctor! That’s what we do! Deal with patients that don’t want to take care of themselves!” He fired back and Peter’s grin widened.

“Now, someone tell me why I’m here at your SHIELD reunion please.” Peter said, looking between them.

“Because of me.” Fury cut in. “I should have stopped things before they went as far as they did, Mr. Parker. I let them escalate and that should have never happened. Hill is being dealt with and frankly, I need you working again. Until the Avengers are mobile, we don’t have a defense against the supervillains.”

Peter shrugged. “Oh, well.”

Fury squeezed his lips together as he struggled to control his automatic urge to snap, well aware that Peter was watching him closely.

“Peter?” Brett cut in. “It wasn’t bad, was it? I thought we were all doing pretty good together.”

“Of course it wasn’t bad. Why do you think I kept doing it? Hunting robots is my hobby.”

“Then, would you be willing to go back to hunting robots as a team effort with Brett and I? We could even get another team assigned to back us up now in case something goes wrong.”

Peter grimaced and studied the table, well aware that what they all wanted was him back under a SHIELD contract. A number was called out and Brett and Sherman both got up, returning with pizzas.

“We’ve already eaten.” Brett told him. “Sherman said you probably didn’t eat lunch.”

“Mother Sherman.” Peter grumbled and Sherman glared at him.

“Someone has to keep your ass healthy!” Sherman said and slid a couple of slices on a plate and handed it to him. Brett dropped a bottled water in front of him and both stared at him until he started eating. He finished four slices before he finally spoke.

“I’m not too worried about SHIELD backup to be honest. However, before I’d agree to another contract, I want an additional clause.”

“What is it, Peter?” Brett asked him and Peter frowned.

“I want a friend of mine to be able to come and help me out if I need it – no questions asked. He used to go by ‘Daredevil’.”

All three of them straightened in surprise. “You know of another living superhuman?”

“I do. I want a clause that he could help me if I need it without any trouble or hassle.”

“I don’t see any problem with that at all, Mr. Parker. Hopefully your friend would be willing to listen to our sales pitch if he ever has to show up.” Fury told him, studying Parker closely. The look on his face told him that Daredevil would be a bigger challenge than he was. “I can add it to your existing contract. I never canceled it.”

Peter sighed and shook his head. “Actually, I have another item. I don’t want to work with the guy called Coulson. Ever. In fact, it’d be best if I never even see the man. He hacked my personal server and was damn arrogant about it. I still get pissed off when I think of it.”

Fury grimaced. That one would be harder to deal with as Coulson was quite high ranking, but damn… What choice did he have? “Mr. Parker, I will make sure that he knows not to interact with you, however he is quite high ranking and might very well be at one of the scenes you’re called out on.”

Peter shrugged. “As long as we never speak, I’ll deal with it. Now, you have the copy of the database, correct?”

Fury nodded. “I do.”

“Good. I’ve stripped all patented information from it, but that version is yours. My database though – is mine. Not SHIELD’s or anyone else’s. If I choose to share my personal information, that’s my choice, not yours.”

Fury nodded. “Good. I’m glad we understand each other. As soon as you get the contract updated, I’ll review it and sign it and make sure that my friend gets a copy of it also. He’ll need to know it’s legal to help me if I call him.” Peter told them before standing up. “I’ll see you guys later I guess.”

“Uh-uh! You need to eat! You’ve only had four slices, for God’s sake! You should be eating at least one and a half pizzas!” Sherman damn near growled at him and Brett joined in. Fury found himself smiling in approval as his Agents got Peter to sit back down and continue to eat. Dealing with superhumans took a certain personality and not everybody had it in them to do it.

 

Peter found himself back at Matt’s two days after his meeting with SHIELD. He had his new contract, which he had yet to sign, and his special serum in a syringe in his backpack. It’d taken him nearly two years to get it right, and if Matt was willing to watch his back, he wanted him to have enhanced healing, a milder version of his super strength and anti-grav which if he installed it properly and Matt practiced, would allow him to fly if he needed to.

Matt was wearing his special glasses and he positively beamed a smile at him when he came into the office. He was up and around the desk, hugging him tightly. Peter couldn’t help but return it. He didn’t have many people in his life that he could count on and Matt was one of them.

Peter finally settled in a chair and started pulling out his stuff and talking about it with Matt. Matt went over his contract very, very carefully, making sure there were no hidden surprises in there for him and his jaw hit the floor when he saw the clause about Daredevil being able to assist Spider-Man – no questions asked.

When he looked up in question, Peter nodded. “I asked and they agreed, Matt. It’s a real clause.”

Matt was shaking his head. “They must be hard up for help.”

“I guess they are. I thought they might just leap for joy when I mentioned that I knew another superhuman.”

“Well, you have no excuse not to call me then if you need help.” Matt said firmly and Peter nodded, pulling out the rest of it. He handed Matt a couple of earpieces. 

“They’re already set to the frequency that Sherman, Brett and I use. They have a range of 50 miles, so you should be able to hear us nearly anytime we go out, okay?”

Matt nodded and Peter shoved the little silver case his way. “That. That’s the shot that will share my enhanced healing and a version of super strength with you, Matt.”

Matt picked it up and flipped the case open. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

Peter nodded. “Oh yeah. It took me nearly two years to get that version right there. These things I get called out for… They’re not muggers and robbers and gangsters, Matt. They’re usually robots or something mechanical with lasers and everything else. I’m not going to take any chances with your life. I want you to be able to heal up if you get hurt.”

Matt looked up at him solemnly. “It’s a bit frightening.”

“No doubt. Change always is.”

“In the vein or intramuscular?”

“Either one works. Want me to give it to you?”

Matt’s hands fisted and he finally nodded. Peter made his way around the desk and made quick work of it, feeling how tense Matt was under his hands. As soon as it was done, he wrapped his arms around Matt and hugged him tightly. “I’ll be staying with you for the next two days to make sure that I’m there to keep you fed.”

Matt frowned. “I won’t be able to move or something?”

“Not that. Healing takes a ton of calories and you’re going to be eating like nobody’s business, Matt. I’ll be making sure that the food is steadily coming in while you heal up from your old injuries.”

Matt sighed and nodded. “Fine.”

“Good! Now the last thing.” Peter pulled out a pile of small silver discs. “These are portable anti-gravity discs, Matt. I’m thinking we can fasten them to your suit and rig it so you can turn it on and off. With a bit of practice, you can probably figure out how to move around with them also. It would eliminate the hazards of working at heights.”

Matt hummed in interest and fingered one thoughtfully. “Well, we have a couple of days to get it rigged up and try it out. Then it’ll just take time to get it worked out, along with a lot of practice.”

Peter nodded. “I’ve been working on a personal force field. It should deflect damn near everything, but I’ve still got to get the power consumption down to something tolerable. My stuff needs to run off rechargeable batteries!”

Matt laughed. “We’re always going to be poor at heart, aren’t we?”

Peter nodded. “We are. It’s too damn hard to part with money when I know how it is when I don’t have any.”

 

Four days after the shot, Peter was gearing up. He’d scheduled it with Matt to meet up with him tonight. They were going to go out and see if they could track down some robots to take down. Matt wanted to get used to being able to see in a fight and also using his anti-grav suit to let him go up to battles in the air. It was going to take a lot of practice to get good at using both things in a fight and he’d rather start small.

Brett and Sherman were both damn near overjoyed. They had the car loaded up and a cooler tossed in the back seat filled with drinks and snacks, long before he finished getting his gear on. When he finally slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up, turning on his stealth unit, the two of them couldn’t quit smiling.

They drove down near the docks, and he had them stop where he’d told Matt to meet up with him. Peter slid out of the car, well aware that there was a second car full of SHIELD Agents sitting not thirty feet away. He shut down his stealth and made sure that Brett and Sherman both had their earpiece in before nodding.

“I’m off! Let’s see what we can find.” He said before leaping straight up. Matt was waiting for him on the roof and Peter waved.

“Hey double D! Ready to go wander?”

“Of course. I need the practice.” 

Peter jumped off the rooftop, web swinging his way down the street, fully visible and Matt ran the rooftops, using his anti-grav to make the huge leaps between buildings. The two of them were holding a steady 20 mph pace as they traveled uptown. They’d been traveling for nearly 30 minutes when they got their first hit. Peter’s spider-sense and Matt’s hearing both picked it up almost simultaneously.

“Brett! Sherman! West, around 1200 feet. Daredevil’s hearing 8 distinct drive trains. Elevation – 200 feet plus or minus.” Peter called out. “We’re going in. Get ready.”

The two of them pulled over, their backup doing the same and Brett and Sherman took shelter behind the car, pulling out the chest of their anti-robot gear and getting ready. It wasn’t long. 

“Got it! They’re in the DB! Big and blue are EMF and the silver ones are high voltage, armor piercing rounds. We’ll drive them down to you.”

“We’re ready, Peter!” Sherman called back and Brett loaded up. They all got their first good view of Daredevil as he simply leaped into the air, flipping gracefully and landing feet first on the first one to appear, driving it down and into range as he leaped back up. Spider-Man was suddenly there, tossing him even higher as he leaped from robot to robot, lining them up and letting Matt figure out how to drive them down and into range of the rifles.

It was a helluva thing to watch as the two of them flipped and bounced gracefully from robot to robot, Peter occasionally giving him another toss back up and higher. The whole thing was over in less than 3 minutes. The two superhumans dropped to the ground and Peter started hauling robots to the sidewalk and piling them up.

Sherman came over with his med bag. “Any injuries?”

“I’m fine. DD?” Peter asked and Matt shook his head.

“I’m good. Not a scratch.”

Sherman frowned and still checked them both over before he was satisfied, Peter was used to it but Matt found himself smiling at the sheer determination the Doctor had to make sure they were okay.

“Just wait. He’s going to want your baseline stats next and boy, fun times. Let me tell you.” Peter grumbled. “Leave your dignity at the door.”

Matt laughed. “The night’s still young. Let me put off the indignity as long as I can.”

“Good. Elevator up!” Peter yelled and Matt jumped straight at him, Peter launching him into the air. He flipped at the top of the leap and landed on the roof, Peter following him up.

Peter and Matt stayed out for nearly four hours that night and took down 23 robots and/or weird flying craft with lasers. Only one was a new one for him and he picked out one to take back to his DB. The rest were piled up on the sidewalk for the police.

When they finally finished, Sherman checked them over once more before letting the two of them sit in the backseat. They handed out Gatorades and snacks to everyone as they talked over their night. Matt had several things he wanted Peter to change on his suit, so they made plans to go to the DB tomorrow. Sherman damn near had a stroke when he realized that Daredevil was going back to Peter’s house with them.

Matt had finally shrugged. “Peter knows the two of you and trusts you. I can at least do the same thing.”

Peter and Matt both used stealth and unloaded the car. Bob the cook had dinner ready and Matt was feeling pretty damn cheerful. “Damn Peter! You get dinner ready when you get home, too?”

“Oh, yeah. I haven’t eaten this good in like… forever.” Peter said as he pulled his mask off. “Bob! It smells fabulous, as usual.”

“It actually does…” Matt said, sounding surprised.

Peter laughed and nudged him. “That super sniffer is almost more trouble than it’s worth, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say. Most fast food makes me want to throw up.” Matt said as he headed upstairs with Peter. Peter had brought over some of Matt’s clothes the other day so that he’d have something here whenever he stayed.

Sherman and Brett did the same thing, all of them making it back to the kitchen within a few minutes of each other. Bob always ate with them anymore, as Peter didn’t distinguish between status positions. He treated everyone the same.

They all ate quickly, completely starving after the night they had. Sherman had his Pad out and was making notes as quickly as he could type one handed, trying to get Matt’s file started. Sherman grabbed Matt just as soon as dinner finished and hauled him off for his baseline exam. Matt throwing a long suffering look over his shoulder at Peter who just waved at him.

“I lived through it. You can live through it. Although, we’ll never speak of the thing again – not even to each other.” Peter swore and Matt laughed as he followed Sherman upstairs.

 

Director Nick Fury shut the goddamn door to his office with a thud. His people had gone fuckin’ nuts. That’s all there was to it. The thought of Spider-Man alone… He’d had people double dealing and stabbing each other in the back for the chance to become the man’s handler. Fury had finally put out a ship wide bulletin explaining that Spider-Man had chosen his OWN handler and would not accept any other. Full stop.

But now Daredevil had shown up to patrol with Spider-Man tonight. Dear Lord… He was too old for this shit. Right now, Daredevil was only in agreement to come out to assist Spider-Man. Unless that agreement changed, he was going to list Brett Walker as his handler also and let Sherman handle the Medical duties for the both of them.

Their relationship with the superhumans was damn fragile and he couldn’t be upsetting the apple cart. Fury walked back around his desk as he thought over his problem. Perhaps… It was obvious that Daredevil and Spider-Man were good friends. You could see it in everything they did. They had the easy familiarity that comes from a long acquaintance. He fired off an e-mail to Brett.

Maybe the kid had a friend he worked well with here in SHIELD and would like to try a partnership. He had hundreds of Agents and now a total of two superhumans. Jotting down notes for his morning meeting, Fury tried to make sure that all of his questions were covered.

 

Logan Howlett paced back and forth on the rooftop. The Professor had sent him out here to look for Spider-Man and Daredevil. He’d gone by the kid’s house, but found SHIELD there and hadn’t gone inside. Now it was a hit or miss effort as he kept moving every night, hoping to get close enough the kid would pick up on him being here. At nearly one a.m., he finally heard the familiar ‘thwip’ of the kid’s webshooters and cocked his head, listening.

“Hey, big guy! What brings you down to the poor end of town?” Peter called out when he spotted Logan.

Logan waved. “I need to talk to you, kid. Got a minute?”

“Sure.” He dropped gracefully down onto the roof. “Daredevil will be here in a few seconds. Is that okay?”

Logan smiled at him. “It’s fine with me. You look good, kid. I never thought you’d pick up with SHIELD though.”

The red-suited figure of Daredevil suddenly shot up and over the edge of the roof, flipping over to land on his feet. “Man, you can get up the speed on those webs. It’s hard to keep up.”

“I don’t usually go so fast, but you wanted to know, so…” Peter turned back to Logan. “Have you met double D?”

“I have. I guess it’s good that the both of you are here. No one’s listening in are they?”

Peter and Matt lifted their masks and pulled out their earpieces, shutting them off. “Go ahead.”

Logan nodded. “Good. The Professor would like the chance to talk to you.”

Peter frowned. “Why? It’s a long way out to his mansion and I’m not a mutant. I don’t deal with his school.”

Logan nodded. “I know. I told him. However…” Logan took a deep breath and lowered his voice even more. “We have a ton of people in ICU back there. They’re only alive because of the machines, kid. The Professor would like to know what you did to give Matt back his sight and if he can use the same process to heal up some of the injured of ours.”

Peter and Matt stepped backwards in unison. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Peter finally said stiffly and Logan sighed.

“I told him that we didn’t have any trust built up. They’ve been snubbing superhumans the entire time the school’s been around and now he thinks you’d come out to help…? Why do you think he sent me? I’m about the only one that’s worked with the both of you.”

Peter suddenly straightened. “Oh, that reminds me. Do you think you can help Matt and I learn how to change identities? We’re going to need that skill.”

Logan’s eyebrows shot upwards and he saw the two of them trade a look. Matt spoke next.

“We have some long term plans we’re both working on that may make it a null point, but… just in case it takes us more than 30 years or so, we’d like to be ready.” He told Logan. “It’s a damn tough world we live in anymore.”

Logan straightened, eyeing the two of them before he sniffed, breathing in deep. He did it a couple of times before he realized what he was smelling.

“Shit. You two… You’re not dying.” Logan said, stunned. “Oh my god… All these years and I’ve not found any others, but you two…” Logan’s voice got a bit rough and he cleared his throat. “I will definitely have to come over and talk to the two of you. But for now… Would you please consider coming out to talk to the Professor? These people are his friends and quite frankly, there are only a handful of us out there that are still mobile. We’re all worried that someone will show up and snatch up the rest of us.”

“Damn it.” Matt growled. “Now I’ll have to get Foggy to drive us out there.”

“Make sure you wear the ear cuff, Matt. Foggy, too. I don’t know if I want to share that particular secret.” Peter said quietly. “That’s serious.”

“We’ll do it. On second thought, I think we should let Brett and Sherman drive us. Brett drives faster than Foggy and Foggy’s no good in a fight if it comes to that.” Matt said. They both turned back to him. “We’ll come out this weekend. Is your number still the same?”

Logan nodded.

“We’ll call you when we’re on our way then.” Matt told him. Peter was putting his earpiece back in and Matt did the same.

“We’re off, Wolverine. See you this weekend.” Peter told him before launching himself straight up into the air. He cleared 80 feet easily and shot his first web, Daredevil launching himself into the air after him.

Logan’s jaw dropped open though, because Daredevil… He was flying…?!

 

Friday afternoon found Matt and Foggy both busy. Peter had elected to not get another job and instead, he started filling out patents. He had hundreds of ideas that could be patented and released, that had nothing to do with the long term plans of theirs. It was good, as his business was allowing them to keep their law firm open.

Peter had even built them a website, which Foggy had carefully learned how to update. Matt smiled, still thinking of the internet. He really hadn’t known what he was missing. When his phone rang, he looked down and saw Peter’s name. He picked up.

“Hey, Peter.”

“Hi, Matt. You got time to come out today? We just got a call about a possible HYDRA ship in the air over Manhattan. Complete with armored robot squad.”

“Wow, fun times. I’ll let Foggy know I’ve got to go out. Where do you want to meet?”

“Well, we can come by and pick you up if you’d like. We’re supposed to have a jet that’s going to carry us all over there, so we don’t have to deal with the traffic.”

Matt thought of the empty office and shrugged. “Fine. I’ll be ready.”

“Good. We’re on our way.”

Matt let Foggy know he had to go out and got changed into his suit, slipping his civvies on over it and tucking the rest in his bag. It wasn’t long before he was sitting next to Peter onboard a little jet and headed for downtown Manhattan.

Brett had a tablet computer in his hand. “Alright guys. Here’s what we know. They showed up nearly 30 minutes ago and decided to start doing their best to blow up anything in their way. NYPD responded first and were promptly outgunned. I’m told that two officers lost their lives in the initial confrontation. Director Fury has established a SHIELD secure zone. That’s where we’re heading. All I can show you right now is this video.”

He turned the tablet around and Matt and Peter watched it. It looked like cell phone video, rather jerky and low resolution. By the time it finished, Peter was shaking his head.

“That’s not good, Brett. See how those robots are moving? Bring back any memories?”

Brett frowned and turned the tablet computer back around before shaking his head. “Not really.”

Peter sighed. “It’s been nearly 5 years now, but I haven’t forgotten the way the Chitauri moved when they invaded. That neural network of theirs is a real problem.”

Brett’s eyes widened and he looked over at Sherman, who looked floored. “You think they’re using alien tech? Reverse engineered?”

“Oh yeah. We’re going to have to jam the neural signal before Matt and I will be able to get through the robots to the ship.”

SHIELD landed the little jet in their safe zone and they all unloaded. Peter was digging out electronics out of his ever-present backpack.

“Brett! Where can I sit this up? It’s going to need to broadcast the entire time.” Peter asked. There were people moving around everywhere.

“Over here.” They all turned at the deeper tones of Fury. Sherman herded them towards him and the Director pointed towards some tables that were set up. “Use the table. We’ll make sure it’s not disturbed.”

“Thanks.” Peter said, damn near radiating wariness. He set his laptop and the weird ball shaped thing he was carrying on the table and kneeled down next to it. Matt watched Peter write code for nearly two minutes before he was satisfied. “That’s it.” He hit ‘enter’ and all around them the crowd suddenly started murmuring, as the robots lost their oddly synchronized motion.

Peter turned to Matt. “It’s there. Right in the middle of the robots. Are you getting the same thing?”

Matt nodded. “It’s huge. There’s an odd subsonic hum that I think must be noise canceling, as otherwise something that size should be terribly loud.”

“That’s what I think too.” Peter turned. “Brett? Sherman? Either of you guys rated to fly?”

They both looked shocked before shaking their heads ‘no’. Peter huffed and Matt frowned.

“Where can we get some pilots then?”

“What do you need pilots for?” Fury cut in as he came over. “We don’t have any aircraft to waste against it.”

“Wasting aircraft…?” Peter said in confusion, tilting his head. “No way. Someone’s going to need to fly that thing when Matt and I take it over. Hacking I can do. Flight? Never flown anything before and over a populated area in something that size…? Not a good time to be an amateur.”

The crowd around them had gone still and Peter and Matt both shifted uneasily. “Time’s wasting. Would you rather we let it go then?” Peter asked. “We can do that too, I guess.”

Fury seemed to shake himself before starting to grin. “Hell, no. How many pilots do you need?”

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. How many does it take to fly yours? Let’s go with that number for now.”

“Shit! It’s as big as the helicarrier?” Brett said in shock.

“I haven’t seen it yet. But…” Peter and Matt both looked up.

“It’s huge.” Matt finished.

“When do you need them?”

“We’ll call you. We’ve got to take down the robots and get inside. Once we get it clear, we’ll open the landing bay doors and call.” Peter told him.

“I’ll have them ready.” Fury told them.

Peter turned to Brett and Sherman. “Get your gear ready. Matt and I are going up. Once I figure out how to take them down, we’ll be sending them your way to put them down. Okay?”

They both nodded. 

“In fact, if you can recruit some help, do so. There are a lot of them up there, guys. You don’t want to get behind.” Matt told them.

“Hell, yeah! I think we can find some help.” Brett said, smiling.

“In that case, we’re leaving now.” Peter told him. “Be careful.”

“YOU TWO be careful!” Sherman said quickly. “Don’t make me have to put stitches in either of you today!”

“Yes, mother.” The two of them answered in unison before they both leaped straight up. It was a helluva thing to watch, as they were nearing the tops of the skyscrapers in a matter of seconds. Brett and Sherman pulled out their gear and set up the firing line. Fury sent 12 more Agents their way. All of them had their own air rifles, thank God.

Up in the sky, Peter and Matt had already engaged. The sky was rapidly becoming a swirling melee as the robots tried to concentrate their fire on the rapidly moving targets with no luck. Brett kept his eyes glued on the action, waiting on the word.

“Peter’s ripped the back off of one of them now.” Sherman muttered from next to him. “Won’t be long now.”

“Nope.” Brett agreed.

“You guys trying to say that he’s doing his analysis while hanging onto a robot hundreds of feet in the air?” Fury said from directly behind them.

“Yes, sir.” They answered in unison.

“Well, shit. That’s impressive if he can get it done.” Fury told them. That was when the radio crackled to life.

“Brett? Sherman? You guys there?”

“Go ahead, Peter.”

“These are some of the most well built robots I’ve seen to date. It’s going to take two different bullets to get them down and keep them down. High voltage to destroy the neural network and EMF to destroy the electronics systems. Every robot needs to be hit twice. Got it?”

“Got it!” Brett turned to see Fury and Sherman already splitting the firing line in two and swapping out the anti-robot bullets. “Give us a second to rearrange.”

“Tell us when.”

It only took a few more seconds before they were ready. “We’re set up guys.”

“Good. I’ll be ripping off the backs of them. The shielding is a titanium blend. To make sure they’re effective, hit the unshielded area please.” Peter answered.

“Target the unshielded area! Got it!” Brett said as Sherman passed the word down.

“Peter’s getting them open and sending them to me. I’ll be sending them down to you. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep them in the center of the street right in front of you. Ready?” Matt asked them.

“Anytime.”

What followed was a trial by fire for a lot of SHIELD Agents. Peter and Matt were a flawless team and they had robots raining out of the sky in hail of metal. Matt was able to keep dropping them within a 30 foot section of the road in front of their firing line and the Agents were struggling to keep up. The metal bodies were getting deep out there. There were so many of them that even at the pace Spider-Man and Daredevil were keeping to, it took nearly 40 minutes before Peter was on the radio again.

“Last one, big D! Incoming! I’m going to web the ship and start up. Come on!”

Daredevil grabbed the last robot, spun around and kicked it into the pile of bodies on the street below. He left in a blur of color, following the web-swinging Spider as they chased the ship.

“Shit! How far away did the ship get?” Fury said from behind them.

“Spider-Man, Daredevil! How far away is the ship?” Brett asked.

“Less than a mile now.” Matt answered. “We’ve almost caught up.”

“So we need to get mobile to keep up, don’t we?” Brett asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s quite slow though. Its size I guess. I’m crossing the field… now!” Peter called out and silence fell.

“Right behind you, Webs.” The red blur that was Daredevil vanished also.

“Shit.” Sherman said quietly. “Let’s get the gear together and find a ride, Brett. They’re leaving us behind.”

“I’ve got your ride.” Fury told them. “Grab your gear. I’ll have them show you to the jet.”

Fury started barking out orders and people ran everywhere, getting the scene secured and getting transport in to handle all the robots. Brett stopped long enough to make sure they’d keep one of the robots for Peter’s database before heading to the landing area, where the jets were lined up. Fury caught up with them and gave them their last minute instructions before letting them launch. It was a quiet bunch of Agents in the jet. All of them a bit wide-eyed at the thought of working with superhumans.

They hadn’t been in the air long before Brett and Sherman’s phone both beeped in unison. They pulled them out and looked at them, confused.

“Please excuse me. I was merely connecting. I am TED, the AI that works with Peter. He wants you to be able to track them, so I have updated your phone with an app for you to do so.” A cool, male voice told them over their phone speaker.

“TED! Are they going to be able to re-establish communications?” Sherman asked.

“They are. Peter is almost finished.”

“Thank goodness.”

Brett had tapped the new icon on his phone and a map of the city pulled up, complete with a red dot that was slowly moving forward. “Awesome! TED! Can you give the app to Director Fury’s phone? He’ll need to be able to track it as well.”

Sherman got on the radio to Fury to let him know about the app. TED apparently sent it, as the man made a happy noise and told them that they were getting in the air to follow. It was only a couple of minutes later when the radio crackled to life.

“Brett? Sherman?” Matt’s voice was clear and they both sighed in relief.

“You’re coming in loud and clear, Daredevil.”

“Good. Spider-Man and I are nearly a third of the way to the bridge and still working. We’ll contact you when we’re there.”

“Roger that, Daredevil. We’re waiting for the call.”

“Waiting sucks.” Sherman said softly and Brett smiled at him. 

“It does. You know they’re probably getting hurt as we speak.”

“Yeah. I can’t even imagine how many soldiers would be on a huge ship.” Sherman said.

They followed along in near silence for another fifteen minutes before the radio crackled to life once more.

“We’ve got the bridge.” Peter told them. “I’m getting the stealth down now and then I’ll open the landing bay doors. Daredevil is on his way back down to escort you to the bridge.”

All of them straightened up. “We’re ready, Spider-Man.”

Less than a minute was all it took for the huge ship to suddenly appear, directly ahead of them. The main comm. line suddenly chattered into life, but all of them were focused on the doors slowly opening on the back of that thing.

“Brett! I’ve got four jets full of Agents with me. Tell them to leave the doors open and let us all dock. We’ll need to get the rest of the ship secured.” Fury barked over the radio.

“Copy that, Director.” Brett changed over to the other line. “Spider-Man, leave the bay doors open. SHIELD is landing multiple jets to help secure the soldiers.”

“Will do.” Peter called back.

Their jet landed and all of them poured out, Sherman made a strange noise and immediately took off towards Daredevil.

“How the hell did you get this?” He said, poking at the injury covered in webbing. Matt frowned and moved away.

“Ow, you know. Don’t poke!”

“Is Spider-Man injured too?”

“He is. We’re both mobile, mother hen. Don’t worry.” 

The others had gathered around by now and behind them, the other jets were landing.

“Well? How did you get hurt?”

Matt frowned at Sherman. “There are some soldiers on this ship that are… huh. How to describe this. They wear metal exo-skeleton armor that is hooked directly into their brain stem here.” He said, pointing at the back of his head. “I admit it. The sight of it grossed us out and we had to struggle to figure out how to get them down.” He grimaced. “We got it, but… That’s just a nasty sight.”

“Daredevil, we’re ready to go to the Bridge. Everyone’s here. The others are going to start clearing the floors and getting anyone you and Spider-Man didn’t already get. We’ll remain on the Bridge until we’ve landed and got the all-clear.” Brett told him.

“Alright. This way then.” Matt took off at a brisk pace and they had to hurry to keep up with him. There were only two skirmishes on their route and Matt handled both of them easily. All of them got to see the metal armored people with the spike that hooked into their brains. Brett called back to the others and told them how Matt and Peter had managed to get them down.

They rode the elevator up and it opened onto the Bridge, where Spider-Man was currently working. He looked up and waved.

“Hey, it’s all yours. I’m not a pilot.”

The others all scattered to the many stations here and set to work figuring it all out. Sherman had immediately started fussing, seeing the multiple webbed up injuries on Peter as well. Brett helped him get the two of them cornered and settled into chairs so Sherman could go over them and start cleaning and patching their wounds. SHIELD had the helicarrier on the ground before Sherman was finished and giving out bottled water and power bars to his two superhumans.

Brett had his laptop open and Sherman did as well. Now that they had them taken care of, both of them set to work getting their reports filled out. Fury would want to know everything in detail.

“Hey, TED?” Peter asked and they both turned to look at him.

“Yes, Peter?” Replied the same voice that had added the apps to their phones.

“Go ahead and give Brett the video feed from this one. Be sure to supply the code used for the hacks as well.”

Brett’s laptop suddenly ‘dinged’ and he looked back to see three new e-mails in his inbox. Brett pulled them up and opened the attachment. It only took a few seconds before he whooped happily. 

“When did you guys install video feed into your suits?”

“A couple of weeks ago. Liability issues, you know.” Peter told them. 

“Do you have some tablet computers in your backpack?” Brett asked him and Peter nodded.

“Good.” Brett said with a smile. “I’ll send the debrief report to each of you and you can get started filling in the blanks. The sooner we get the paperwork done, the faster all of us will get out of here. This was a huge event and Fury’s going to want data from all of us.”

Peter dug them out and handed one to Matt. Soon, there was only the clatter of keyboards running as the four of them filled out paperwork.

 

“Well, here we are.” Brett said solemnly as he turned into the well manicured drive of Xavier’s School for Gifted Children. Sherman had been just as excited as he’d been when Matt and Peter asked them to come along. Turns out that their superhumans weren’t very thrilled with the school. A story which they’d explained on their way out to the school.

All of them were wearing the mind-shielding ear cuffs Peter had built and even had a few spares on them. All of them were armed as well. Peter had several things stuffed in his pockets and Matt had them stashed all over him. It was a bit unnerving to the two SHIELD Agents, as Peter and Matt were pretty damn unflappable. For them to be this worried…

“Oh, look. Logan’s waiting on us.” Matt said dryly.

“I’ll bet you $10 that Scott and Jean are already parked in the office with Xavier.” Peter threw in and Matt snorted. 

“That would be a stupid bet. Those two are permanent ass-kissers.” Matt growled out. “I can’t stand either one of them.”

“Me, either.”

Brett parked in front of the school and all four of them climbed out. Logan smiled at them.

“Thanks for coming…” His voice trailed off and his eyes narrowed. “All of you are armed.”

“Of course.” Matt told him. “We’re entering some extremely hostile territory here.”

“Logan, you are more than welcome to stay with us. Brett and Sherman need someplace secure to wait, while we talk to the Professor though. Matt and I plan to run Scott and Jean right on out of there. Our discussion is not their concern.” Peter told him.

Logan grimaced but nodded. “I told the Professor you wouldn’t want either of them there. Anyway, I know a place for them.”

They made introductions then and Logan couldn’t help but smile at the excitement from Brett and Sherman.

“You’re a legend, Mr. Howlett. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Brett told him cheerfully.

“He’s right. Both Peter and Matt trust you, so that makes you good people in my book.” Sherman told him, shaking his hand.

Logan led them into the school before he cast a glance at Peter. “You brought SHIELD here.”

“Of course. They’re good in a fight.” Peter told him. “I trust those two.”

Logan shook his head but led them to a small conference room. “Brett, Sherman. Both of you will need to wait here. I’ll take Peter and Matt on to meet the Professor.”

Matt smiled at both of them. “It’s fine. Nothing at all should happen and we’ll be gone from here soon. If it does, you’ll hear the explosions and know that we’re on our way back to you at full speed.”

They both laughed and headed in to sit down. Logan shut the door behind them.

“You guys are actually worried you might be attacked here.” He said, studying them carefully.

“We are.” Peter told him. “Matt and I compared notes. You, Dr. McCoy, Gambit, Rogue, Iceman and Pyro are the only ones we’ve had good experiences with.”

“The others we’ve run into look at us like we’re a piece of gum stuck to their shoe and they’re not afraid to say so.” Matt added.

“We learned. Mutants discriminate.” Peter said firmly. 

“It’s better to be safe and prepared.”

Logan nodded. “I can believe that. Most of’em here look at me the same way.” He turned and led them deeper into the mansion. “The five you mentioned all had it rough before they got here and spent some time dealing with the shittier side of life. They know it’s not all sunshine and roses out there.”

He stopped in front of a heavy wooden door and knocked.

“Come in.”

Peter and Matt both sighed in unison at the sight of the office full of people – Scott and Jean, front and center.

“This sucks.”

Logan laughed at them. “Here they are, Professor.”

“Thank you, Logan.” Xavier told him before frowning at the both of them. “Why can I not read either one of you?”

Peter glanced over. “We’re not even in the door yet. You owe me on that one, Matt.”

“Damn it.”

Peter turned back to Professor X and managed a smile. “Because neither one of us wants anyone else in our mind, that’s why.”

The sensation of pressure increased and the two of them stepped into place next to each other.

“Logan, we came here because of you, but being attacked before we even speak – we’re gone.” Peter told him. The two of them were out the door before anyone could stop them and striding quickly down the hallway. Behind them, they could hear a lot of yelling. Logan caught them before they made it to Brett and Sherman.

“Wait! Wait a damn minute!” He growled out as he came running up. They both turned to him warily and he frowned.

“Hey! I had nothing to do with the Professor deciding to lose his damn mind.” He said. “You wouldn’t happen to have any more of those things that can keep him out, would you?”

Peter nodded and Matt pulled out an ear cuff from his pocket and held it out. Logan picked it up. 

“Just put it on?”

“Yeah. It’s powered by the natural energy of your body. If it’s on you – it’s on.” Peter told him.

Logan clipped it on his ear and swayed for a second before regaining his balance. “Damn. That’s an odd feeling.”

“Now, if you don’t mind. We need to pick up our friends and get the hell out of here.” Matt told him seriously. “Yesterday was a busy day for us and we’d rather not fight again so soon.”

“There’s no need to leave.” 

They turned to find Xavier rolling up behind them. He looked terribly old and sad. He stopped a few feet back.

“There are no words to say just how sorry I am for what happened. Over the years, it has become habit for me to check the intentions of anyone coming into my presence. It never occurred to me what a violation of privacy that was.” Xavier ran a tired hand across his face. “Logan is exactly right. Your minds are your own and unless you invite me into them, I have no business being there.”

“Thank you. The Scarlet Witch is the same way but thankfully she’s somewhere off in Wakanda destroying minds and not around here anymore.” Peter said dryly.

“Logan told me what you said. The mutants that you know and respect… All of them are in our ICU.” Xavier told them. Matt frowned.

“Those are the only ones that we trust to act like decent human beings, Professor Xavier. As was just demonstrated again this morning, most mutants are dangerously on edge. If we help them, chances are, we’ll be facing them in battle quite soon.”

Peter nodded. “That’s just shooting us in the foot. Considering that most of them hate anything and everything to do with superhumans, they would never accept the help anyway.”

“And why should they?” A woman said strongly. “The help of uneducated fools, stupid enough to inject themselves with god-knows-what in order to try and imitate true mutations?” Her red hair became visible as she stepped into the hallway.

“Jean. This is not helping.” Xavier told her.

“It is, Professor. The X-Men should not be seen cavorting around with ignorant vigilantes! We want to improve our image, not degrade it! How will the public ever trust us, when we allow such people into our circle?” Scott Summers came out and stood next to his girlfriend. “I am totally against this idea.”

“The insults never stop around here, do they?” Matt told Peter who smiled.

“Nope. This was a bad idea.” Peter said. “Come around sometime Logan and we’ll feed you, okay?”

“Done. Might be time for me to wander a bit anyway.” Logan said, looking at Scott in disgust. 

“Wait. Please. These five that you know… Would you at least help them?” Professor X asked. 

Matt frowned. “You said they were in ICU. We can’t do anything without informed consent and signed paperwork, Professor X. Apparently, none of them can give it.”

“Paperwork?!” Jean snapped. “Unbelievable! What? You think you’re lawyers now?”

“Actually, he is.” Logan said, grinning widely. “Matt’s been an attorney for years now.”

Silence fell over the others and Logan laughed. “What? Blew your image did it? Not exactly uneducated, is he? Only reason Peter’s got only one degree and not three is that Oscorp got hold of him.”

“G-Got hold of you?” Professor X asked tentatively. Peter nodded.

“Just what he said. It took me months to get out of that hell, but I did. Matt and I cover each other’s backs now. It’s a dangerous world out there.” Peter said calmly.

“I can reach them mentally.” Xavier said. “That’s the best I can do until they are healed.”

“At that point, it’s too late.” Peter said. “Give us a minute, please.” Matt and Peter grabbed Logan and headed down the hall, vanishing into one of the unused rooms. They were gone nearly 15 minutes but when they came back, Logan seemed a lot more cheerful.

“Lead the way, Professor. They’ll do it if you can get their permission.” He told him. “Oh – Scott and Jean can’t be there. At all. Period. They’re not privy to the information at any stage.”

Xavier turned around to look at them and for a moment, everyone wondered if Scott might just blow up he got so red before the two of them nodded and left, stiff backed with fury.

“This way.” Xavier said with a sigh.

It was a pretty long walk to the hidden wing where all the ICU patients were kept. Walking in though, they were treated to the long lines of hospital beds filled with patients.

“Oh, no…” Peter said softly. “All of them went down in battle?” He asked Logan. The man shook his head.

“Nope. Some of them were caught by Hydra and worked over. A couple of them got caught by anti-mutant groups, too.”

Xavier had stopped by a bed and they could see the familiar blue-furred form of Dr. McCoy.

“How long has he been like this?” Peter asked.

“Almost a year now, Mr. Parker.” Xavier answered before he obviously set to work reaching Hank. They all waited patiently.

“Mr. Parker? Hank would like the specifics of what you’re going to do before he agrees.”

Peter grimaced and took the ear cuff off his ear. “I’ll tell him.”

Xavier though had turned and was staring at Peter, wide-eyed. 

“What is it?” Matt asked.

“You… You have a most brilliant psychic presence, Mr. Parker. It’s a bit… dazzling.” Xavier said and Peter clapped a hand over his eyes as Matt and Logan both laughed.

“Just let me talk to Dr. McCoy please!”

It was a nearly ten minute wait before Peter moved. He turned to Matt. “Professor X is going to sign the NDA right now, Matt. He had to listen in, so now he’s got to be covered.”

Matt pulled out the tablet and brought up the file. Professor X took the tablet with a smile and read over the document quickly before signing his name. Peter dug through his backpack and pulled out the metal case he’d brought them in.

“You want to give it to him or would you rather I do it?” Peter asked Xavier. The man positively beamed at him and held out his hand. 

“I’ll do it, Mr. Parker.” Xavier made quick work of giving the shot to Dr. McCoy and they all moved to the next bed. Peter clipped his ear cuff back on and Xavier looked terribly disappointed, but went to work talking to Remy. It took them nearly two hours to go through explanations with all via the Professor’s telepathy.

“As soon as they’re awake, we need to get their signatures on the NDAs.” Matt said quietly.

“We also need to find Brett and Sherman. It’s past time for lunch and I’m sure they’re terribly worried.” Peter said.

“I’ll take you. We can go to the cafeteria.” Logan cut in.

“Indeed. I’ll remain here to make sure that they’re undisturbed until they’re once more awake.” Professor X said cheerfully.

“Sounds like a plan then.” Peter said before Matt nudged him. The two traded looks and Peter sighed. “Fine.”

He walked over to Professor X and held out the case. “You’ve already signed the NDA, Professor and we think you’re man enough to admit your flaws. Here.” He handed the case to him. “You can have one as well if you’d like.”

Xavier’s hands opened and closed into fists a couple of times before he slowly reached out and took the case. He looked up at Peter and Matt.

“Are you sure?”

They both nodded. “Logan says you’re a good guy and he’s a good judge of character.” Matt told him. “Do you need one of us to give you the shot?”

Xavier shook his head and laid the case in his lap. He slipped his suit jacket off and unbuttoned his cuff, rolling up his sleeve. He knew what he was doing and handed Peter back the case very quickly.

Peter stuffed it in his backpack and they followed Logan back out into the hallway, leaving the room with its silent occupants behind them. Logan opened the door when they made it back to Brett and Sherman and they were almost tackled by their SHIELD Agents.

“Hey! Easy there!” Matt complained. “Yesterday was a rough day.”

Brett straightened up quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hurt anything, did I?”

“Of course not!” Matt said. “Just a bit tender on my side still. It should be gone by this evening.”

Peter was busy nodding as Sherman fussed over being left behind. “I know! I know! Logan is going to take us to the cafeteria now! Geez… We’ll eat. I promise.” Peter grumbled.

“You’d better! Yesterday was a long one and I want to make sure that both of you heal up quickly! You never know when you’ll get called out again.” Sherman told him sternly and Peter smiled.

“Yes, mother.”

Sherman punched his shoulder then and they laughed before turning to Logan.

“Show us where the food is kept here, Logan!”

“This way.”

Logan showed them to the student cafeteria. The place was almost completely empty and echoed strangely. He showed them how to order from the menu, as they no longer ran the buffet, with so few people anymore. As soon as they were all settled though, they started their usual meal time banter. They were loud. And cheerful… To the nearly empty school for mutants, it was an unusual sight anymore. People trickled in, sitting around the edges quietly as Peter rambled on and on about his space fold Bridge project.

“I’m lost, kid. Way lost. How about we go on a tour of the school instead?” Logan finally interrupted.

Everyone laughed, well aware that Peter could go on about science for hours if you let him. That’s how they wound up spending the next couple of hours going through the school and grounds. 

“It’s beautiful here.” Brett said quietly. “You guys should be proud.”

“Xavier probably is. It’s not mine though. I only stay here sometimes.” Logan told him. “It always looks nice though and the quiet is wonderful.”

“Well, it’s getting late and we need to get back home.” Peter told him. “I’ll leave a tablet here with the NDAs on it. Have them sign them when they wake up and they’ll be automatically transferred to Matt for the record. Otherwise, we need to get going. Bob’s going to have dinner ready soon and I don’t want to miss it!”

“He’s a great cook.” Matt agreed. “I actually look forward to dinner anymore.”

“Me, too.”

Logan shook hands with all of them before they left. “Be looking out for me. I’ll be there in the next week or two. You guys got space for me to crash for a while?”

“Sure. Come on by.” Peter told him. “We’ll be watching for you.”

Logan smiled and waved at all of them as they climbed back into the car. 

 

“So… Either of you guys ever think about joining the Avengers?” Brett asked them over dinner.

Peter promptly frowned. “No. Ant Man and the Wasp are huge liabilities in a fight. I wouldn’t want any part of it.”

Matt was nodding as well. “Neither one is trained to fight. They also don’t seem to listen to War Machine or Iron Man very well.”

Sherman was smiling. “I told you so.” He said at Brett.

“What brought this up?” Peter asked.

“Nothing. I was just wondering if I was going to lose my job to Coulson.”

“Coulson? He works with the Avengers? Then I am DEFINITELY not thinking about it.” Peter nearly growled. “Besides, the research I did into Pym particles was ugly. I can’t believe you guys let them use those suits around your Agents.”

Brett and Sherman both looked at him oddly. “What research?” “What are you talking about?”

Peter frowned. “They didn’t tell you when they joined the team?”

At their blank looks, he sighed. “TED, send them the files on Pym particles please.”

Their phones beeped. “It’s done, Peter.”

“Thanks, TED.”

Brett and Sherman were quiet as they read through the files Peter had sent. Both of them looked rather ill when they finished.

“I can’t believe it. Why the hell didn’t they say something?” Brett finally said.

“We need to get everyone that’s worked around them in for a complete set of scans to see if any damage has already been done.” Sherman said to himself, typing notes. “I’ll have to contact the helicarrier.”

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

“One person.” Matt told Peter who stood up.

“I’ll get it.”

His spider-sense wasn’t going off, so he opened the door. “Hello…” His voice trailed off. “Are you really Mr. Stark?”

The familiar face of his childhood hero smiled and Peter frowned quickly. He stepped out onto the porch and looked around, wondering if there were hidden cameras. He wouldn’t put it past Brett to pull a prank like this.

“What are you doing?” Stark asked in confusion as Peter checked everywhere.

“Looking for the gim-… Oh my god. Is that an AUDI?!” Peter said, spotting the car parked in front of the house.

“An AUDI?” “Here?” “I gotta see it!”

Tony had to step out of the way as the rest of them came charging out, jumping off the porch and joining Peter in the street to look over the car. Tony made his way out to them, still smiling as the group was damn near in rapture over his car.

“I never thought I’d get to see one in real life.” Peter said, snapping a picture with his phone. “They look better than they do on the internet.”

They took turns snapping pictures of each other standing next to it.

“Foggy’s going to be so jealous. He loves Audi.” Matt said, grinning hugely at the thought of the fit his friend was going to throw when he heard.

Brett was leaning as close to it as he dared, eyes closed as he sniffed. “You can smell the money…”

They all laughed. Peter turned back to Mr. Stark.

“Well, seeing as this beautiful car has your name on the tag, I’m guessing you’re the real thing.” Peter closed the distance between them. “What brings you to Queens?”

“All of you.”

“Might I suggest that all of you go inside? Sir just recently was released from the hospital and should sit down. Besides, you left the front door open.” A cool European voice said from the car.

Brett and Peter both looked delighted. “Was that JARVIS?” They said in unison and Stark laughed.

“It was. J’s pretty bossy.”

“I have to be, sir. You never listen otherwise.”

“An Audi AND JARVIS! Christmas came early, Brett.” Peter told him cheerfully.

“Hell, yeah! I never thought I’d see or hear either one.”

They all trailed back up to the house, moving slowly as it was apparent that Stark wasn’t going very fast. Sherman herded him towards the dining room table, Bob grabbed another plate and dished him up something to eat as the others all came back in and settled at the table.

They were quiet for a few minutes as everyone set back to work eating. Stark broke the silence.

“So, all of you live here?”

“We do.” Sherman told him. “It’s Peter’s house. Then he decided to work with Brett-…”

“He’s pushy.” Peter cut in and Brett grinned at him.

“And then I got involved, so that we could make sure that Peter was getting medical care. And then Peter brought in his friend, Matt there.”

“I had my own place, but I was spending all my time here with them anyway when I wasn’t at work.” Matt told him.

“So he moved in and we’ve been this way ever since.” Peter finished up. “Brett’s the one who got us Bob over there. The man is a God in the kitchen.”

The others called out their agreement and Bob flushed in embarrassment.

“It’s nice cooking for people who appreciate it.” He told them.

“We appreciate it!” Brett told him cheerfully.

Stark nodded. “I came over to find out if you guys would be willing to come out and practice with Rhodey and I every now and then. All we have is each other to practice with and it gets a little old.”

Peter cut a glance over to Brett and raised his eyebrows. “See?”

Brett laughed. “You and Matt were right. I won’t worry about it again.”

“What am I missing?” Stark cut in, confused.

“Our conversation just before you got here, Mr. Stark.” Sherman told him. “Brett asked Peter and Matt if they ever considered joining a team like the Avengers and they said no. They told us that Ant Man and the Wasp are too much of a liability in a fight.”

Stark sighed. “Tell me about it. Neither one is trained to fight and neither one wants to learn. Hank Pym and I have a terrible relationship and both of them seem determined to disagree with me on everything, just to support Pym I guess.”

“And there is my other point.” Matt told them. “It’s obvious. Why in the world don’t they go back to civilian life?”

“Who the hell knows?” Stark said with a shrug. “They’re going to get Rhodey and I killed though if we’re not more careful.”

“You’ve got a lot of pull, Mr. Stark. Why don’t you just use the Pym particle research to get them removed from the team? The two of you would have an easier job of it without having to keep them alive.” Peter asked.

“Pym particle research?” Stark asked. “I’m not allowed to touch anything to do with Pym. Legal shit.”

Peter grinned at him. “Well, I could access it. Most of it is public record. Then I started pulling up the sensor scans of area where they fought and wow… It’s not good.”

“Give him the data, Peter.” Sherman told him.

“He’s got JARVIS. TED wouldn’t be able to access his phone.”

“TED? There are files?” Stark asked and Peter nodded.

“TED helps me out in the lab. He can offer the files if JARVIS will accept them.”

“J? Do it please.”

“Very good, sir.”

Stark’s phone beeped and he pulled it out, typing quickly. He started reading then and the others went back to their dinner. Peter and Matt were on seconds before Stark finished and he was pissed.

“Now, after reading this, what the hell am I supposed to think except Pym is trying his best to kill me? He knows exactly what Pym particles do to the body! That’s why he went back and improved the shielding, so the wearer would be able to survive it! He’s letting his two use the damn things around unshielded people! KNOWING THAT EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO PYM PARTICLES CAN KILL YOU!” He finished up in a near shout. “What the hell is wrong with the world?”

Stark sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking worn down. “JARVIS, send the files to Coulson and also to Legal. Give Legal a summary. I want Pym served with notice immediately.”

“Very good, sir.”

“We’ll do it sometimes.” Matt told him and Stark looked confused. “Your question. We can come out and practice with you sometimes. Do you have a gym big enough? Or do you practice outside?”

“The compound has a huge indoor gym, but it’s also located on 200 acres. Plenty of space.” Stark told him.

“Good. It’s too far away to go very often, but we can come by every now and then.”

Stark waved a hand. “Just call me and I’ll send a quinjet to pick you up and bring you back. No traffic and much faster.”

“Cool.”

Stark looked between all of them. “So if you’re not practicing in a gym, where are you practicing?”

“The city.” Matt told him. “Peter and I go out all the time to take down robots. Keeps us in shape and it’s good practice.”

“Mind if I tag along every now and then?” He asked.

“No problem.” Matt told him.

“But ONLY if you agree to do not one single thing other than fly along with them! You’ve only just gotten out of the hospital! I’ll not have you get reinjured for something stupid.” Sherman told him firmly. “You do something stupid and I’ll have Peter web you into a ball and sit you in the backseat!”

Stark grinned at him. “Yes, mother.”

The others all howled with laughter but Sherman just rolled his eyes. “Someone has to watch out for all your crazy asses.”

“Would Coulson come along with you, Mr. Stark?” Brett asked and Tony shrugged.

“I don’t know why he would. I’ll just be flying.”

“Good!” Peter cut in quickly. “He’s a jerk.”

Stark’s eyebrows shot up. “Coulson?”

Peter nodded. “He showed his ass here in my home one lovely afternoon. With luck, I’ll never have to speak to him again.”

Stark burst out laughing before wincing and putting a hand against his ribs. “I can’t believe it. The man that’s always telling me I make too many enemies, made one himself. He didn’t bother to say anything to me either.” He grinned. “Now I know why he didn’t want to come over with me tonight.”

“I’d of had to throw him back out into the street.” Peter said.

“Oh, this is good. Wait ‘til I see him again.”

“How long before you’re cleared for field work, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked him.

He grimaced. “Three weeks maybe? Depends on how everything heals up.”

Matt glanced over at Peter. “I think you should go show him the anti-grav you’ve got and I’ll talk to Brett and Sherman.”

Peter’s eyebrows shot up but he shrugged. “Mr. Stark, bring your broken self this way. It’s time to talk some science.”

Peter herded the man upstairs while Matt pulled out his tablet computer. “Here guys. You’ll need to sign the NDA before I can talk to you about it. This one is serious. Bob, I hope to be able to talk about this with you soon, but for right now, I need to get Brett and Sherman in the loop.”

He took the two of them off to the basement and made sure they signed the NDAs before he started to explain about Peter’s ‘shot’. It took a while. Sherman understood the science behind it and had to go through all of the files Peter had on it.

Both of them looked stunned by the time he’d finished his explanations.

“This is why you went out to the School the other day, isn’t it?” Brett asked and Matt nodded.

“It is. One thing you’ll find out is that most mutants abhor even the sight of a superhuman. For some reason, they think that we do this intentionally. Neither Peter nor myself had any hand in how we were made this way. Only now – with this shot, is there any intention behind it. As you can see, Peter’s going to be living a long, long life. He wants his friends there with him.”

“Good lord, if SHIELD ever found out…” Sherman said softly and Matt grinned. 

“They won’t. Security is excellent and that means that we can’t offer you the shot until the two of you are ready to leave SHIELD.”

They both nodded. “Anywhere you go though, people will notice that you’re not getting older.”

“We will be getting older.” Matt said. “The years will still be going by us. The difference is that physical aging will be much slower if at all. We want to explore space.”

“Is Peter offering the shot to Mr. Stark then?”

“He is. We don’t know if he’ll take it.”

Brett stood up and Matt found himself being hugged tightly. “You guys are the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

Matt laughed. “You and Sherman are pretty amazing yourselves. Neither Peter nor I trust very easily, but you two…? About the only way either one of us would ever associate with SHIELD.”

The three of them made their way upstairs to find Peter and Tony already waiting in the living room. Tony looked a bit giddy.

“Sherman, right?”

He nodded. 

“Good. If I get Rhodey released from the hospital, can I bring him here for you to watch over? He’s going to want this Sherman, and I don’t think the hospital is going to be the place for him to recover.”

Sherman frowned. “We’ll have to come up with a cover story to explain how he’s healing.”

Tony waved a hand. “I’ve already got it planned out. The old Erskine formula. I’ve even got a sample of it. Rhodey got desperate to walk and we used it.”

“Damn. You think fast, Stark.” Matt told him and the man grinned.

“Call me Tony, everyone. I think we’re all going to get along great.”

Sherman shrugged. “In that case – bring him over. We might have to set him up here in the living room for the moment, but he should be mobile again before long.”

The two of them chatted over details briefly before Tony was nodding. “Tomorrow then. I’ll call you when I get him released. Rhodey and I will take it at the same time.”

 

Tony had Rhodes at Peter’s house by 10am the next morning. Sherman got the man settled onto the couch and Tony in the recliner right next to him. Only once he had some lunch in them, did he give them the shot. JARVIS had agreed to scan them hourly and record the changes.

By lunch time the next day, the change in them was quite noticeable. Tony looked like he was in his 20s again and James Rhodes had broken down and cried when he realized that he could move his legs once more. Bob had been making some truly enormous meals to feed everyone.

At the end of day four, both Iron Man and War Machine finally got to go out on patrol with Peter and Matt. Sherman had damn near issued death threats of his own for them to do nothing but fly. For once in his life, Tony found himself following the advice of a medical professional. The two of them flew along, ringside seats to Peter and Matt’s workout as they traveled across the city, tracking down and eliminating robots. Rhodey finally spoke after watching the two of them take down a group of 12 with very little effort.

“They make me feel like a damn amateur.” Rhodey grumbled and Tony laughed.

“Peter’s been hunting robots for nearly 9 years now. Pretty much as long as he’s known Matt, although Matt only started coming with him on his hunts around 8 months ago. Before that, they’d meet up and spar, using the rooftops as their gym.”

“Yeah, but… They’re so graceful. I’m going to have to do a metric ton of training if I hope to get back into good enough shape to keep up with those two.”

Tony laughed. “You can cheat a bit this time, Rhodey. Remember? Oh, and they already agreed to come out and spar with us. We’ve just got to get off the disabled list first.”

“Really? They’ll come all the way out to the compound?”

“Yep. I told them I’d send a quinjet for them to pick them up and drop them off.”

“Awesome. That place is so empty I feel like we’re just rattling around in there.”

“Me, too. Maybe things will be changing for the better now.”

“I hope so, Tones. I like being part of a team. And to find out about Scott and Hope? Damn! That’s twice we’ve been stabbed in the back.”

“I know. Don’t remind me. The two of them though… I think the shot gives us all a reason to bond, Rhodey.”

“The secret that holds us together.” 

“That’s right.”

 

Saturday morning, Matt was finishing up his second cup of coffee as he worked on getting another one of Peter’s patents completed. Tony and James had gotten here only about half an hour ago and were eating breakfast. Sherman was supposed to give them another physical this morning to decide if they were ready to go back to training or not.

His attention was pulled to the door though, when he heard the sounds of many footsteps coming up the drive. Frowning, he stood up and made his way to the door, expanding his senses. He caught the smell right away.

“Logan.” Matt said, opening the door. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Heya, Matt. Can we come in?” He said, grinning widely. Around him stood Hank, Remy, Rogue, Bobby and Pyro. Matt held the door open.

“Come on in. Have you all had breakfast yet?”

“No.” Came back in many voices and Matt nodded, heading into the kitchen to see if Bob had anything left. It was chaotic for a while as they worked to get enough chairs around the table and make introductions. Bob was grinning widely as he set back to work cooking for even more people.

It took nearly an hour for all of them to get caught up with the current events in each others lives. That’s when Logan finally cleared his throat.

“So, ah… You and Peter looking for any more help? Since Registration, jobs have dried up and gone away and none of us like feeling like a burden on the Professor.”

“What kind of work do you guys want to do? Go out in the field with us? Or more conventional work?” Matt asked.

“Either/Or. We need some jobs, Matt.”

“Well, Peter’s definitely got the money to hire all of you. I think we may have to make a trip to the database and talk to him about it. You guys drive here?”

“We did.”

“Wait a minute!” Tony interrupted. “Peter has the money? What am I? Chopped liver?”

“You mean the kid’s wealthy?” Rhodes asked. “He never said anything.”

Matt smiled at them. “We all grew up poor. None of us are eager to part with money, but these guys right here…” Matt pointed at them. “They’re family. We’ll look out for them and yes, Rhodes. Peter might not have as much money as Tony YET, but he’s working on it. His net worth right now is 358 million.”

“Shit. His patents have been selling well then, huh?” Logan asked.

“Extremely well. I’m still way behind on getting them completed too. Foggy’s due over later and we’re planning on doing nothing but filling out paperwork. I can tell him to meet us over there though. He knows where it is.”

“Well… I think we should head over to the database then and talk to Peter.” Logan told him.

“Deal.”

Once again, it took them a while to get everyone sorted out into the cars although the ride over went by quickly. Hank and Brett parked side by side just inside the roll up door at the DB and all of them piled out. 

Rogue, Iceman, Gambit and Pyro all took off at a run, deeper into the base. “PETER!”

Matt was grinning as they vanished down the aisle. Brett and Sherman helped him explain the database and how it was laid out to Tony, Rhodey, Logan and Hank. They took the long way through it, letting them see everything. Although they damn near couldn’t get them away from the Chitauri ships. The power generator was a good lure though. It was over an hour before they made it to Peter’s lab in the database.

Matt couldn’t help but laugh though. He was obviously not getting anything done, as the mutants were still talking at 100 mph with their arms waving.

“Hi, Peter. I brought the rest of them.” Matt called out and Peter turned to him, smiling. 

“Hank, Logan! You guys look great!”

There was another round of backslapping and hugging before they managed to make sure Peter had the entire story.

“So, you guys need work, huh? What do you want to do?”

Rogue sniffed. “I want to work Peter, but I also want to be able to help you out in the field. Logan told us about you and Matt watching out for each other. That’s what I want, sugah.”

One by one, they all told him the same thing and Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought about it.

“Well, we’re all going to have to spend some time practicing with each other before we can work together in the field. Matt’s a tyrant when it comes to training. We’ll have to find a place big enough we can all practice in.”

Tony held up a hand. “Got one!”

“Oh, that’s right. You said your compound had a huge gym. You don’t mind us using it then?” Matt asked and Tony snorted.

“Uh, no. You guys are supposed to be coming out to practice anyway, remember?”

“That’s right!” Peter said. “Awesome. Now, we’ll have to find a place big enough to house all of us. My house isn’t going to be able to hold all of us for long.”

“Got it covered, too.” Tony said once more. “Plenty of space.”

The whole group turned to look at him. “What do you charge for rent then, Mr. Stark? I’d imagine if you’re living there, it’s probably high-end real estate.” Peter asked him.

“It is and nothing. In case you’ve forgotten, we all have something in common now. Even more than that, Rhodey and I want to be part of a team again as well.”

Matt held up his hands. “Whoa there. Peter and I are not going to sign the Accords. No international work for us. We’ve talked it over and both of us are happy with working local. New York has enough crap for us to deal with.”

Tony shrugged. “I have no problem dropping to inactive on the Accords myself. I told you. I want to be part of a team also and wow, but so far Rhodey and I have had some shitty luck.”

“Brett? Is there a problem with my contract if I move?” Peter asked him. Brett shook his head quickly.

“Nope. I just have to update with your current address.”

Peter turned back to Tony. “How hard would it be to come back to the city and hunt for robots from your compound?”

“I’ve got several quinjets, Peter. I can just fly us back and forth.”

“Wow, so all I’d have to worry about is getting here then. Maybe I should buy a building closer to the compound then. Hank? You need a lab also, right?”

“It would be nice, Peter. I’d like to go the same route you are and try to license my patents. With Registration, working for someone else is impossible.”

“Still got it covered guys. Seriously. There are several levels underground that aren’t even in use yet. We can just take over one or two of them and move the database. Then we’ll see about your labs.”

“Is JARVIS going to be okay with TED being there?”

“I am, Mr. Parker. In fact, TED and I have already been cooperating. We are learning each others jobs as we both think it’s a good idea to have someone able to back you up.” JARVIS spoke over the buildings speakers.

“He’s correct, Peter. There are no issues with the two of us occupying the same building.” TED said.

“Okay then. Maybe you can give us a tour of the compound then, Tony? We can decide then.” Peter said and Tony grinned.

“JARVIS! Bring down the quinjets and let’s pick everyone up.”

“Very good, sir.”

 

Director of SHIELD Nick Fury, walked into his meeting room and settled himself in the chair at the head of the table. He looked down at the table filled with Agents and couldn’t help it. He grinned.

“Good morning, people!”

“Good morning!” Came back to him in many voices.

“Such a difference in everyone lately. I’m still getting used to all these smiling faces. We’re SHIELD. We’re not supposed to be happy, damn it!” He said and everyone laughed.

“Alright. Let’s get down to business. Walker? Give us an overview of everyone at the compound now. I need to know that we’re all on the same page.”

Brett stood up and pulled a handful of tiny metal objects out of his pocket. He tossed them into the air. “Activate, TED.”

“Activation complete, Mr. Walker.”

The little devices snapped into a grid pattern near the ceiling and Brett grinned as the holographic display sprang to life. He started out with Peter, carefully describing his abilities as well as his struggles with PTSD and how to not trigger it. He moved on to Matt and then the other mutants that had shown up to work with Peter and Matt. It took him almost 45 minutes to get through it all. When he finished, he held out his hand.

“Deactivate and recall, TED. I’m done.”

“Very good, Mr. Walker.” The tiny devices suddenly spun through the air, piling themselves up in hand neatly and Brett sat back down.

Coulson stood up then to cover all the work Tony and James had been doing to get themselves back into shape and also to integrate with the rest of the group.

Sherman took the floor then to cover everyone’s medical status and the MedBay he was now using in the compound. “I’m finally fully staffed. It’s actually more than we need right now with the ten of them, but it’s good to have the people trained in how to deal with superhumans and mutants that have trauma in their past. Which, come to think of it, seems to be most of them.” Sherman sat back down and Fury nodded to the group.

“Damn fine job everyone. I never would have thought it possible a year ago, but we now have two superhumans, six mutants and our two armor guys all able to answer in emergencies. I’ve had many, many calls from foreign nations wanting to know why our group has not signed the Accords.” He grinned at the table. “It’s actually a pleasure to be able to tell them that they only want to work here in the US. All I’ve heard for years now is that they didn’t want us butting into their business. Now they’ve got it and oops! Maybe they were hasty. Too bad.”

His Agents were nodding in agreement.

“Now, any updates on current events at the compound before we move on?” Fury asked and Brett nodded.

“Yes, sir. Peter’s lab has been completely installed and he’s back at work. Hank’s lab is nearing completion and of course, Tony’s was already done. Matt’s partner in his law firm decided to move closer to the compound and he’s moved in next to Matt. They’ve bought a building near by that they’re getting renovated to work as their law firm. Since Registration, their business dried up and Peter’s patents have been what’s keeping them going. They’re paying off exceptionally well.”

“What’s he worth now?” Fury asked.

“386 million now, Director.”

“I would like to state that the mutants have asked Peter and Matt to go with them back to Xavier’s school. I believe they’re hoping that they can convince more to come forward and work with them.” Sherman said.

“Who the hell knew that Spider-Man was so damn popular with everyone?” Fury said in wonder.

“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, Director. Everybody that’s dealt with him will tell you the same thing.” Brett said. “Peter’s the one actually paying their wages now.”

“Not Stark?”

“No, sir.”

“Why not?”

“They didn’t want SI to be associated with mutants and superhumans. Due to Registration, unemployment among them is nearly 90%. Stark argued but lost the fight.”

“Are they planning to use the Avengers name then?”

“No, sir. They tell me that the Avengers are associated with international work. They’re local only and planning to use only their own code names and not a team name.”

“So, are they going to accept individual handlers then?”

“No, sir. I’ve discussed it with them several times and all of them prefer it the way it is. However, they’ve been okay with me bringing in extras to work in the field and get some exposure to dealing with superhumans.” Brett told him.

“If I may, Director?” Coulson interrupted. “I would like to also point out that there was one glaringly huge mistake that was made with the original Avengers. We treated them as assets. In our line of work, that’s how it’s always been. But in this case…” Coulson sighed. “In this world, the true super powered individuals are civilian. We now have 10 people at the compound and only Rhodes has military training. They approach field work in a completely different manner than any I’ve ever been familiar with . Their command structure is much more fluid and they put a lot more emphasis on individual decision making. It’s been giving Rhodes a lot of trouble to adjust to their different way of handling problems, but he’s finally adjusting. Stark fit into it like a piece of the puzzle. No problems whatsoever. It’s right up his alley - thinking on his feet and changing the plan to fit the ever shifting situations. I think that some extensive review of their training and practicing should be done. We need this on file, so that in the future, we’ll have a better idea of how to handle a team of super powered civilians.”

“So who the hell’s in charge then?”

Brett grinned. “It changes, Director. Peter directs most all robot battles as he has the most experience by far. Matt commands in the hand to hand combat situations, although Logan has been leading more and more of them. Tony has been handling all of their electronic takeover scenarios – things that need to be hacked or handled electronically before they can be taken down. After that, it’s more general. If someone has experience with a particular type of enemy, they speak up and generally, they’ll take command. The leader changes back and forth in their battles very fluidly.”

Fury sighed. “That sounds confusing as hell.”

“It works for them, sir.”

He nodded. “Moving on. Has everyone here had a chance to tour the Enemy Database?”

Heads nodded everywhere.

“All of you have access now?”

“We do, sir!” Came back a chorus of voices.

“What do you think?”

It was quiet for a moment before the first one spoke.

“It’s a magnificent idea that he turned into reality, Director. He’s been doing it long enough that the database is actually deep enough to be useful. The technical information included means that you can look up the robot and cobble together the appropriate weapon, even if you don’t have the ready made ones available.”

“We’ll be able to handle a lot more of the robots on our own, sir. As common as they are anymore, it’s a great thing to have.”

“Good. Because we’ve got to get ours up and running, people. He gave us a copy of the database months ago and we’re already nearly 35 robots behind in adding to it. I want names on my desk before shift end of people you think would work well in the database. They’re going to be doing the same damn thing – tearing down, documenting, trialing out how to kill them and adding the information to the DB we have as well. Walker tells me that Peter will give us the information he’s collected on all the different robots he’s done after giving us the database, but I want our people doing it as well. We can compare how ours turned out against his. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Meeting dismissed then. Back to work.”

They all rose to their feet and scattered, leaving him sitting in the empty conference room. He smiled as he tipped his chair back a bit and looked at the ceiling. None of them knew just how damn MANY calls he was getting from foreign nations. This bunch they had working now… They radiated a calm professionalism that his previous team never had. Even Stark was steady and controlled now, acting much more like the man that ran a multi-billion dollar business.

They were a team of bad-asses. That’s what it was. Their patrols were dropping shit that would have stopped the old Avengers in their tracks and doing it so smoothly that most of the time they didn’t even make the news. It was un-fucking-believable. His whole organization was revitalized by the thought of being able to rotate in and work at the compound with them. Personnel efficiency and morale had NEVER been this high.

He got to his feet, still smiling. He was supposed to call the VP in less than 30 minutes to reassure the man that none of this bunch wanted to work internationally. Everyone seemed inordinately pleased that they were more worried about taking care of the US first. It might be a while before they signed the Accords this time.


End file.
